


An Unexpected Bond

by Kael_Vercorian



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Biting, Knotting, M/M, Mating Bond, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mpreg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-18
Updated: 2016-08-07
Packaged: 2018-03-31 04:50:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 88,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3965005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kael_Vercorian/pseuds/Kael_Vercorian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Tobirama had tried an experimental jutsu on himself- to shift between alpha and omega- he hadn’t expected to immediately go into heat, nor had he expected Madara to show up and help him through it. After a bond forms between them, they try to convince their clan mates that it’s time for the war to end.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> At the starts of this story, Tobirama is 17 and Madara is 20 years old. Konoha hasn’t been formed yet, and Izuna is still alive.
> 
> Brief explanation of Alpha/Beta/Omega:
> 
> Alpha-males and Alpha-females have a knot at the base of their penis that swells during ejaculation. Neither can get pregnant; females don’t have a vagina and have smaller breasts than betas and omegas, but they can produce milk. Both males and females can impregnate people.
> 
> Omegas have a heat three times a year that lasts three to seven days. Omega-males have a penis, while the females do not, and they can impregnate people but not as easily as alphas. If the heat stops on day three or four, that usually means the omega is pregnant. If the heat goes all the way to day seven, then it’s unlikely that they’ve gotten pregnant.
> 
> Betas are unable to have children, but they do have sex. They can pair bond with each other, but not with an omega or alpha. Beta females are able to produce milk, thus allowing them to take care of an infant if something happens to its parents. 
> 
> So, just to let everyone know, I haven't written sex scenes very often, so it might not be very good. But, you don't get better at writing something unless you practice. If you have any constructive criticism, I'd love to hear it.

Madara walked through the forest that bordered the Senju and Uchiha territories. It was neutral territory, and he needed somewhere quiet to think. There had been a battle between the two clans about a week ago, and Hashirama had once again asked for peace. He had thought about agreeing, but he had to take his clan’s opinion into account. There were not many people in their two clans that actually wanted peace; the hatred between their clans was too strong.

He needed a way to bring their clans together. His people needed to _want_ to get along with the Senju, and vice versa, or the fighting would start up again. What could he do to convince them to get along?

He stopped walking when he caught the scent of an omega beginning their heat cycle. What would an omega be doing all the way out here in such a state? He decided to investigate and followed the scent until he came across a clearing in the forest. His eyes widened in surprise at who he found.

Tobirama Senju was sitting under the shade of a tree with several scrolls scattered around him. He had a scroll in hand and seemed to be taking notes. Every once in a while, he would form the hand signs to an unfamiliar jutsu. Judging by the cursing that followed, whatever he was trying to do wasn’t working.

Madara knew he should probably leave, but he found himself overwhelmed by curiosity. Why was the heat scent coming from Tobirama? He had been certain that the other man was an alpha, like him. And what jutsu was the Senju trying to create now? He hated to admit it, but Tobirama had a tendency to come up with rather useful jutsus, such as the Shadow Clone jutsu and all those water ninjutsu. Although the latter wasn’t useful to him as he had a fire affinity.

Deciding to make his presence known, Madara steps into the clearing. The younger man looks up from his scroll and seems surprised to see him. Madara had heard that omegas had trouble sensing others when they were in heat. Normally, Tobirama would have been able to sense him from a mile away.

The two stare at each other for a minute before Madara states, “I was unaware that you were an omega.”

Tobirama scowls at Madara, expression wary. He was in no condition to be fighting right now. His temperature had increased steadily since he went into heat, and he was having trouble concentrating. Perhaps if he answered Madara’s questions, he could get out of this situation without fighting.

“That’s because I wasn’t an omega. I’ve been working on a jutsu that would allow someone to switch between being an omega and alpha. It’s more practical to send alphas into battle. They don’t have to worry about going into heat or being captured by enemies for…..breeding purposes. It would also allow betas and alphas to become omegas to have children. All this fighting has reduced the Senju’s population,” says Tobirama.

“And you decided to test this jutsu on yourself?” asks Madara, baffled.

Tobirama gives him a flat stare. “And who else should I have tested it on? No one in the Senju clan would agree to be a test subject, and Hashirama isn’t about to let me use our enemies as test subjects.”

“He’s still as soft hearted as ever then?” asks Madara.

A gust of wind blows through the clearing, bringing Tobirama’s scent to him. The smell has gotten stronger since he first came here. He examines the other man curiously. There is a light sheen of sweat on Tobirama’s skin and he seems slightly out of breath. Madara looks down and sees that the other man is half hard. It won’t be long now before the heat makes it impossible for Tobirama to think about anything but sex.

“How soon after your transformation did you go into heat?” asks Madara.

“About an hour. I’ve been trying to modify the jutsu I used to transform, but nothing has worked; and it’s been getting more difficult to concentrate,” says Tobirama.

Madara steps closer to Tobirama, drawn to his scent. The lust in his eyes brings a blush to Tobirama’s face. “Do you know how complete your jutsu was? Are you completely an omega or somewhere in between?” asks Madara.

Tobirama looks puzzled, not entirely sure what Madara is asking. “It certainly feels like I’m completely an omega. I don’t yet have any way of knowing whether I have a uterus, though.”

“And what about your knot? Has it disappeared?” asks Madara.

Tobirama looks down at his lap, startled, before glancing back up at the Uchiha. “I hadn’t thought to check,” he admits.

Madara gives him an expectant look. “You want me to check now?” he asks, surprised.

Madara shrugs. “Why not?”

For a moment, Tobirama considers telling him no. But, he’s a realist. He knows how unlikely it is that he’ll be able to transform back anytime soon. He’s already started to crave sex, and it won’t take more than a day or two before he’ll be willing to jump the nearest alpha. He needs to choose a heat partner while he’s still capable of thinking rationally. He knows that Madara is the enemy, but the man doesn’t actually seem that violent off the battle field.

Tobirama leans back against the tree, lifts his hips up, and slides his pants down to free his erection. Although it feels embarrassing to expose himself like this, the lust on the other man’s face is gratifying.

His breath hitched as he wraps his fingers around the base of his cock, rubbing his thumb against where his knot used to be. His jutsu had worked. He glances at Madara through half-lidded eyes and sees the other man watching him hungrily.

His eyes fall shut as he begins to stroke himself. He bites his lip to hold back a moan. He rubs his thumb against the tip of his cock, noticing that he’s started to leak precum. And that’s not the only place he’s leaking, he realizes in surprise. He uses his unoccupied hand to reach behind to feel his entrance. His fingers come back wet. He holds his hand in front of his face, rubbing his fingers together. The slick has the same texture as lube. How odd.

He looks up to see Madara watching him intently, and has to look away quickly, embarrassed. He hears footsteps approaching him, and is surprised when Madara kneels down next to him.

Madara runs his fingers through Tobirama’s hair and leans forwards to press their mouths together. He gently bites Tobirama’s lower lip, causing the younger man to gasp. He uses this opportunity to slide his tongue into the other man’s mouth. Their tongues slide together, causing them both to moan.

Madara pulls away from the kiss and turns his attention to Tobirama’s neck. The younger man’s breath hitches when he begins to lick and nip at his skin. One of his harder bites causes Tobirama’s hips to arch towards him. He removes Tobirama’s shirt and spends a moment admiring the other’s form. He runs fingers over taut muscles, lingering at the areas that get a positive reaction from the other man. He found out that the man’s nipples were particularly sensitive, biting one earned him a breathy moan.

Throughout it all, Tobirama’s scent had been getting more intoxicating, steadily increasing Madara’s arousal. He could feel himself going into rut. He places his hand on the back of Tobirama’s neck and then slowly slides his fingers down the other man’s back, causing the younger man to shiver. As he rubs his fingers against the other’s entrance, teasingly, Tobirama leans closer to him. Tobirama rests his head on Madara’s shoulder and wraps his arms around the other man.

“Nervous?” asks Madara.

“…..a little…..”

Tobirama begins to hear a purr like noise coming from Madara. Both alphas and omegas could make this noise, betas could not. An alpha’s purr was known to be soothing to omegas and an omega’s purr could calm their alpha. He was mildly surprised to realize that it was working; he could feel his tense muscles relaxing and some of the anxiousness went away.

Madara’s fingers were still rubbing against him, and he began to feel impatient. Perhaps Madara noticed his frustration, because one of the fingers began to enter him. It was an odd sensation, but there was no pain. He hummed in pleasure when another finger was added.

Madara took his time stretching Tobirama; and he decided the younger man was ready for him when Tobirama started pressing back against his fingers. The other man let out a soft whimper when he removed his fingers.

“I need to get undressed,” says Madara.

Tobirama reluctantly pulls back from him; and while Madara gets undressed, Tobirama removes his shoes and slides his pants all the way off. Once all their clothes are off, Tobirama crawls into Madara’s lap and slowly sinks down onto Madara’s cock, causing them both to moan.

Tobirama sets a fast pace, lifting himself up until only the head of Madara’s cock is left inside him before slamming himself back down. He’s too far into his heat to take things slow. Madara has a tight grip on his hips, while Tobirama has one hand on Madara’s shoulder and the other carded through his hair.

Tobirama feels like he’s on fire, and every thrust inside him fans the flames. He’s given up on trying to be quiet now. Every hit to his prostrate drags a moan or whimper out of him. The feeling of teeth on his neck, piercing his skin, finally pushes him over of the edge. He cries out as the pleasure overwhelms him.

Madara tastes blood in his mouth; the sounds coming from Tobirama and the tight heat around his cock rips his orgasm from him. He holds Tobirama’s hips tight, keeping the omega on his cock as his knot swells. His seed fills the omega, claiming him, _breeding_ him. He lets out a groan at the thought of the omega’s stomach swollen with his child.

‘ _Mine,_ ’ he thinks possessively.

They sit in silence for the next few minutes, each trying to get their breath back. Madara’s knot will keep them locked together for the next fifteen minutes. Tobirama shifts just slightly, feeling the knot stuck inside him and enjoying the feeling of being claimed. Which is kind of an odd thought to have for a former alpha. He hadn’t been raised to think of such things. Were the instincts of an omega that strong or was he simply discovering a previously unknown kink of his?

Tobirama feels fingers running through his hair, and Madara’s other hand is running over his back. Although initially startled, he soon relaxes and even begins to purr. _‘Even that noise is different now,’_ thinks Tobirama, amused. He’s sure that the difference in sound would hardly be noticeable to someone else, but he knows himself well enough to tell the difference.

He sees Madara reach for his pants and pull out a storage scroll. The other man unseals a water canteen, drinks from it, and then gives it to him. He thanks the other man before taking several gulps of water. He hadn’t realized how thirsty he was until now.

The silence between them is starting to feel awkward. What do you say to someone from an enemy clan that you’ve just had sex with? Eventually, Madara’s knot un-swells and he’s able to get up from his lap. He grimaces when he feels Madara’s seed run down his thighs. He can feel Madara watching him as he gets out his own storage scroll and gets out the supplies he needs. Water, food, and a wash cloth to clean up.

He puts his pants back on, noticing Madara do the same next to him, but he doesn’t bother with the underwear or his shirt. It isn’t cold out, and he’s only going to have to get undressed again in a few hours anyway when the heat hits again. He knows that omegas in heat crave sex every three hours for three to seven days.

He gathers up his scrolls and begins to look through his notes. He doesn’t have to worry about Madara leaving before his heat is over, as he had smelt the alpha go into rut. As he’s the omega who trigged Madara’s rut, the other man will crave sex whenever he does until his heat is over. It’s how their weird biology works.

After a few minutes of reading, Madara comes over and starts to look at the papers he’s not holding. Tobirama decides not to protest. None of his notes contain anything truly secret, and sometimes it takes an outside perspective to figure out what went wrong.

They don’t get much done that day, but Tobirama does find out that Madara knows the theory behind jutsu creation. He considers it a pleasant surprise that his heat partner is able to keep up with his intellect.

In between having sex, Madara familiarizes himself with Tobirama’s work. They discuss what he’s tried and why it might have failed. Tomorrow, they’ll try out some of their new theories; but for now it’s late and they need sleep. They both unseal their own sleeping bag and lay down next to each other. With any luck, Tobirama’s heat will let him sleep through the night so he can be well rested for tomorrow. Most omegas are able to ignore their heat while they’re asleep, but some have heats that are strong enough to wake them up in the middle of the night. The two of them wish each other good night before falling asleep.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Information about pair bonds:
> 
> A bond cannot be forced, both the omega and alpha must want the bond to some degree. They don’t have to be in love for the bond to form, just some form of affection and thinking that being bonded to the other person would be alright. The bond can only form if one of them bites the other’s neck, breaking skin. Because bonds are so easily formed, most people avoid biting the neck unless they are ready for commitment. Being pair bonded is considered the same thing as being married.
> 
> A bond can be broken if one person dies or if one or both people begin to hate the other. A newly formed bond can be broken if they are kept more than a mile apart for a year. A stronger bond between people in love can be broken if they are kept more than a mile apart for five years.
> 
> There are different levels to the bond. The first level allows the two of them to sense when the other person is in danger or in distress. They don’t begin to sense the other’s emotions until the second level of the bond. The bond doesn’t evolve into the second level until the couple has a deep affection or love for each other. 
> 
> There is a third level of the bond which allows the two to communicate telepathically. This type of bond is rare, though. Mostly this bond is found in people who were childhood friends and grew to love each as they grew. This is the kind of couple that would be able to communicate silently even without a bond.


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to let you know, I won’t always be updating this fast. I just have a lot of inspiration for the first few chapters.

Tobirama wakes up early the next morning, feeling like he’s on fire. He can feel slick leaking out of him and his cock is aching. He rocks his hips against the ground, needing the friction. Feeling unbearably empty, he reaches back and shoves two fingers inside himself.

“Alpha,” he pleads.

Madara’s eyes snap open and his gaze immediately lands on Tobirama. The erotic display in front of him sends a surge of heat through him. After freeing his erection from pants that are suddenly too tight, he quickly goes over to his omega. He grabs the younger man’s wrist, and ignoring the omega’s sound of protest, gets the younger man to move his fingers out of the way. He rubs his erection against the omega’s entrance, enjoying the other man’s pleading moan.

Madara tries to enter Tobirama slowly, but the omega jerks his hips back, fully impaling himself on Madara’s cock. Madara lets out a shocked moan at the feeling of tight heat surrounding him. His nails dig into the other man’s hips as he sets a face past, hitting the other man’s prostate each time.

Tobirama braces his arms against the ground, teeth biting into his forearm to stifle the loud noises he’s making. Each thrust against his prostrate sends a jolt of pleasure through him, causing his cock to leak precum. He claws at the ground, letting out a whimper at the feel of Madara’s calloused fingers stroking his cock.

The feeling of teeth against his neck has him letting out a breathless moan. The sudden need to be claimed is overwhelming. “Please,” he gasps out.

Madara sinks his teeth into Tobirama’s neck, the taste of his omega’s blood has his cock throbbing. Moving away from his omega’s neck, he begins to nip and lick at the skin of his omega’s back, wanting to leave as many claiming marks as possible.

“ _Mine,_ ” he grows possessively.

The possessive tone in his alpha’s voice sends a shock of pleasure through him. When he feels fingers lightly running over his stomach, he lets out a pleading whine. The need to be knotted is overwhelming. He thrusts back against Madara, letting out a soundless scream as his prostrate is hit. Shocks of pleasure course through him as he finally cums.

The feeling of muscles tightening around his cock has Madara throwing his head back, letting out a deep moan. He digs his nails into Tobirama’s hips as intense pleasure consumes him. He holds Tobirama in place as his knot expands, locking the two of them together. He can feel his cum shooting out of him, coating Tobirama’s inner walls and marking the omega as his.

The two of them stay as they are for a moment, trying to catch their breath. Eventually, Madara moves them around until they’re lying on their side together, with Madara’s arms wrapped around the other man. Madara notices the bite mark on Tobirama’s neck is still bleeding and starts to lick the blood off. His left arm absent mindedly begins to rub against the younger man’s stomach, thoughts of children running through his head.

As the afterglow faded, Tobirama began to realize just _needy_ he had been acting, causing a humiliated blush to spread across his face. His discomfort had every muscle in his body tensing, causing him to become more aware of the fact that Madara was still inside him. Ears burning, he kept his eyes focused on the ground, waiting for the alpha’s knot to unswell.

The scent of his omega’s distress has Madara tightening his arms around Tobirama. His instincts were screaming at him to eliminate whatever was upsetting his omega, but Madara knew violence wasn’t going to help his omega right now. He could just imagine how embarrassed the other man was, acting like a needy omega when he had been born an alpha. He presses a kiss against the pulse point in his omega’s neck, letting out a soft purr noise. Hopefully Tobirama would calm down once he realized that Madara did not intend to mock him.

Tobirama slowly relaxes, the affectionate gestures from Madara startling him into a state of calmness. Tobirama is not seen as very approachable even to his own clan, and the last person who had hugged him was his brother, Hashirama. He hadn’t realized how nice it could feel to just be held.

Madara lets out a relieved breath when his omega starts to relax. He’s better at expressing himself through actions not words, and had been unsure what he could have said to comfort Tobirama. He glances down to where they’re joined, noticing that his knot has gone back to normal. He pulls out slowly, not wanting to hurt the other man.

Tobirama winces slightly; he’s starting to feel sore and is uncomfortably sticky. He glances over his shoulder when Madara gets up, watching as the other man retrieves his wash cloth and comes back. He bites down on his lip to stifle a pained moan as Madara wipes the semen from his entrance. He makes a mental note to take things slower in their next mating; he doesn’t want to have to see a healer if he gets injured down there.

Tobirama sits up slowly and begins trying to stand up, somewhat surprised when Madara helps him up. His eyes close as the alpha leans in, pressing their mouths together in a shockingly tender kiss. After that, Madara helps him get over to where his scrolls are scattered about, along with his pants. It would be too distracting for the both of them if they were completely naked, so both of them wore pants while trying to work on his jutsu.

They spend the next few hours discussing the transformation jutsu, and Tobirama gradually begins to understand what had gone wrong. It was not that his original jutsu couldn’t be used to transform an omega into an alpha, but his subconscious had not allowed the jutsu to work because of how dangerous it would have been. Growing a knot is easy enough, but you can’t just rip a uterus out of someone and expect good results.

If his subconscious hadn’t blocked the jutsu from working, he would have bled to death from having his uterus suddenly removed. He needed to create a jutsu that could not only remove the uterus, but shift all his organs back into their previous state, while healing the areas that had been connected to the uterus. It seems that his transformation jutsu was actually a form of medical jutsu not a ninjutsu as he had originally intended. Currently, he didn’t have enough medical knowledge to change an omega into an alpha; and he would be stuck in this form until he did.

Thinking about the danger involved made him relieved that he did not try to convince one of his clan mates to try this jutsu instead. Not everyone could sense chakra well enough to subconsciously know when a jutsu was going to kill you and stop it in its tracks.

Madara and Tobirama briefly discussed what each of them knew about medicine, which was not much. Neither of them knew any medical jutsu, though Tobirama did have a basic understanding of anatomy that he was going to need to expand if his jutsu was ever going to be successful. After that, their conversation slowly drifted to other subjects, one of them being history which Madara seemed to enjoy.

If he could, he would spend the rest of the day speaking with Madara, but his heat does not allow that to be a possibility. He tries to ignore it as long as he can, but it eventually overwhelms him. Every time he breathed in, Madara’s intoxicating scent filled his lungs. His internal temperature increased steadily, causing his face to flush and sweat to run down his skin. The feeling of fluid running down his thighs has him squirming in place.

His gaze was drawn to the bulge in Madara’s pants as he subconsciously licked his lips. He wanted to taste the other man. It wasn’t enough to just touch his alpha; he needed to experience the other man with all five senses, six if you counted his chakra sensing.

Deciding that it’s too much effort to stand up only to move a few feet, he instead crawls the distance between them, removing his pants along the way. He can see that the other is surprised by his actions but doesn’t care. He reaches out and grabs the waist of Madara’s pants. “Can I?” he asks.

Madara’s breathe hitches in the back of his throat. Mouth gone dry, he can only nod in response to Tobirama’s question. He lifts his hips so that the omega can slide his pants off. The feeling of a wet tongue against his slit has him gasping for breath. His hips involuntarily jerk forward as Tobirama sucks on the head of his cock.

Instead of pulling back, Tobirama leans forward as Madara thrusts towards his mouth, allowing half of the other man’s length to slide into his mouth. He lets out a muffled moan, the feeling of having his mouth stretched out causing drops of precum to drip from his cock.

The vibrations from Tobirama’s moan has Madara’s hips violently thrusting forwards, causing the younger man to choke on his cock. But instead of getting angry, the omega looks blissed out.

Tobirama looks up at Madara through half-lidded eyes then sucks gently on the other man’s cock, enjoying the soft moans his alpha was making. His tongue rubs against the underside of the man’s erection and Madara’s hand comes up to his hair, gripping it softly. When he lets out a contented purr, the hand in his hair tightens painfully, sending a jolt of heat straight to his groin.

Madara’s cock hits the back of his throat, causing slick to slide down his thighs, though he would prefer it to be his alpha’s seed dripping from him instead. The idea of it has his hole clenching. Now that he knows how pleasurable it is to be filled, the empty feeling seems more intense.

He pulls his head back, Madara’s cock sliding out of his mouth with a wet slurping noise. Although he wants to let his alpha come in his mouth, the need to be filled has become too strong. Looking up, Tobirama is pleased to see that the other man is just as out of breath as he is.

Madara lets out a soft whine as Tobirama pulls his head back, desperately wanting to slide back into that wet heat. He bites down hard on his lip as the omega presses a soft kiss against his knot. He tugs gently on Tobirama’s hair, getting the younger man to sit on his lap. His omega slowly begins to sink down onto his cock; and remembering how uncomfortable Tobirama had been earlier, he refrains from thrusting up into him. He wants to cause his omega pleasure, not injure him.

Tobirama has to sit still for a moment, adjusting to the stretch of Madara’s cock in him. He still aches from earlier, but the pleasure is starting to become stronger than the discomfort. He lifts his hips up before dropping back down, moaning breathlessly as Madara’s cock rubs against the sensitive bundle of nerves inside him.

Madara claws at the ground, trying not to thrust up as Tobirama’s muscles tightened around him. Leaning forward, he gently bites one of Tobirama’s nipples, pleased by the sounds he drags out of the other man. He reaches down and firmly grasps the omega’s erection, delighting in the choked moan the younger man makes as he slowly strokes his cock.

Grabbing a handful of Madara’s hair, Tobirama pulls the other’s face closer to press their mouths together, kissing him desperately. Every thrust inside him brought him closer to the edge, sending shocks of pleasure throughout every cell in his body. Eventually, he couldn’t stop himself from increasing his pace, quickly slamming himself down onto Madara’s cock, the slight pain just adding to the ecstasy. He presses his head into the crook of Madara’s neck, teeth biting down to muffle his scream as he comes.

Madara grabs onto Tobirama’s hips tightly as the omega’s walls squeeze around his cock. He bites down hard on Tobirama’s neck as intense pleasure rushes through him. His knot swells as he cums into his omega’s welcoming heat. If he could, he would knot his omega every day.

Tobirama hums contently, relaxing against Madara. If it wasn’t for the soreness between his legs, this moment would be perfect. He wonders if the soreness is a result of their above average strength. As far as he knows, other omegas don’t get sore this quickly during their heats. They’ll need to work on controlling themselves better in the future.

Tobirama’s eyes widen slightly as he realizes the implications of that last thought. To control their strength to that extent would take more time than his heat would last. Why had he thought that? Did he want to be with Madara? Well, the man was intelligent and capable of acting like a good mate judging by his earlier tenderness. Perhaps, it would actually be rather nice to be mated to him.

Suddenly, something shifted inside his mind and his awareness of Madara became stronger. He now knew, with absolute certainty, that the alpha, _his_ alpha, would never hurt him. He breathed in Madara’s smell, noticing that it had changed slightly; his own scent was now mixed with the other man’s. Shocked, he realized that they had just become bonded.

Madara felt a surge of possessiveness rush through him, tightening his arms around his omega. He had the sudden thought that if anyone ever tried to take Tobirama away from him, then he would brutally murder that person. He would keep his omega, and any children they had together, safe. He realized that he must have bonded with the omega in his arms. He wasn’t entirely sure what to feel about that. He knew for a bond to be created, they must have both wanted it on some level.

Madara did like the idea of Tobirama being his mate. The man was creative, intelligent, and practical. Unfortunately, their two clans were at war and would not be happy about this. Logically, he knew that he shouldn’t have bitten the other man, not while their clans were still at war. But emotionally, he refused to think of this bond as something to be ashamed of. He wanted Tobirama, and he would pester his clan endlessly until the stupid war with the Senju was declared over. He wanted any children he had to be raised in a time of peace.

“Brother is going to be surprised,” says Tobirama, sounding amused. His comment causes Madara to laugh.

“Considering you’re always telling him to be cautious about the Uchiha, he has a right to be surprised,” replies Madara.

“Hmm. Do you think our clans can get along?” asks Tobirama.

“Perhaps not right away, but I think in time, we can learn to work together. After all, if the two of us can become mates, then the others should at least be able to not kill each other,” says Madara.

“I don’t know if they’ll even listen to me now that I’m an omega,” says Tobirama, scowling.

“You have the same prejudice in your clan then?” asks Madara.

“Yes, at least in the older generation. Some of the omegas from my generation have had to fight in the war, though. With how many people have already died, there weren’t enough alphas and betas to fight the war themselves,” says Tobirama.

“So the younger ones have seen that omegas can fight and aren’t helpless?” asks Madara.

“Exactly. But the older generation is stuck in the past, refusing to believe the evidence in front of them. They think omegas are inherently weaker, which never made any sense to me. How does having a uterus or having a knot affect a person’s strength?” asks Tobirama, sounding faintly bewildered.

“It doesn’t make any sense to me either. Perhaps given enough time, people’s opinions will change. The younger generation who believe that omegas are equal will eventually grow up and influence the next generation into believing the same,” says Madara.

Tobirama thinks about that, pleased by the idea that omegas may someday be considered an alpha’s equal. “And any children we have are likely to be strong. No one will be able to deny their strength, not even if they’re omega.”

Thoughts of children run through Madara’s head, one could have Tobirama’s white hair and his black eyes and another could have his hair and Tobirama’s red eyes. That would be kind of funny, actually. The child would look like his sharingan was always activated but without the tomoe. He could just imagine their enemies’ confused expressions.

“Whether our children are omega or alpha, weak or strong, we’ll keep them safe. It would be easier to assure their safety if our clans weren’t at war, though,” mused Madara.

“Then we’ll just have to convince them to accept peace,” replies Tobirama. He shifts slightly, noticing that Madara’s knot has gone back to normal. He lifts himself up, hissing softly at the aching feeling.

He moves over to where his supplies are, grabbing a bottle of water and draining it. He quickly eats a rations bar, grimacing at the taste. He was getting sick of eating these. They were good on missions, giving you enough protein to keep you going, but they weren’t made for taste. Glancing to his left, he saw Madara seated a few feet away from him, eating a ration bars while making the same face he did. He didn’t think anyone actually liked these things.

After he’s finished eating, he briefly contemplates working on his jutsu again, but decides not to. He knows that he’s not going to make any progress until he learns more about medicine; and he has more important things to think about, like how to convince his clan to make a peace treaty with the Uchiha. So, for the rest of the day, in between the sex, he and Madara discuss different strategies they can use to talk their stubborn clans into getting along.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you may have noticed, both Tobirama and Madara bit each other. It isn’t necessary for both people to bite each other for a bond to form, but it does make it more likely to form.
> 
> More information about the bond: 
> 
> An alpha is very protective and somewhat possessive of their bonded omega. They don’t like having an alpha touch their omega unless it is a family member, either their omega’s family or their family. They won’t attack the alpha, though, unless he/she tries to do something sexual to their omega. 
> 
> Most alphas will never deliberately hurt their bonded omega, it goes against their instincts. An alpha that does hurt their bonded omega is considered a psychopath and can’t be trusted. Domestic abuse does happen, but it’s not very common because most alphas end up bonded to their omega.
> 
> An omega will feel safe with their bonded alpha. They know, instinctively, that their alpha will protect them and not attack them. Being around their alpha will calm them down and vice versa. Although omegas don’t have the same protective instincts as their alpha, they will protect their alpha if he/she is in trouble; and it’s very rare for an omega to hit their alpha.
> 
> An omega and alpha’s scent will change after they bond; their scent will have trace amounts of their mate's scent to let everyone else know that they’re spoken for. Betas can bond with each other, and their scent undergoes the same change.


	3. Chapter Three

On the third day of his heat, Tobirama awoke to the smell of cooking meat. Confused, he looks to the middle of the clearing to see Madara sitting in front of a camp fire, cooking two rabbits. The most surprising thing about Madara catching rabbits and cooking them was that Tobirama had not woken up when he left or when he started a fire. Tobirama was usually hypersensitive about who was around him when he was sleeping. Even some of his own clan members could not get near his door without waking him up. It seems that the bond between omega and alpha went deeper than he had assumed.

“Good morning, Tobirama,” greets Madara. He returns the greeting and then walks over to the other man, sitting down so close that their thighs brush together.

When Madara hands him one of the cooked rabbits, he thanks him then digs in. After eating nothing but rations bars for the past two days, the rabbit tastes like the best thing he’s ever eaten. After the meal is finished, he realizes that he didn’t wake up craving sex like yesterday. It doesn’t feel like his heat is entirely over, but today is definitely the last day of it. Such a short heat can only mean that he’s pregnant.

Madara must notice his distraction, asking “What’s wrong?”

“I think my heat will be over today,” says Tobirama. He frowns pensively. “I don’t how to take care of children.”

“Neither do I,” says Madara. “But I’m sure we can figure it out together.”

“If the war ends before the baby is born, you mean,” replies Tobirama.

“You’re much more pessimistic than your brother.”

Tobirama scowls. “I’m a realist. Not all of us can be optimistic all the time.”

“I didn’t mean it as a bad thing. Hashirama’s optimism borders on nativity a lot of the time. I’d rather have a partner who sees the world as it is,” says Madara, reaching out to lay his hand on Tobirama’s arm. The other man doesn’t shrug his hand off, which he believes to be a good sign.

The two of them sit in companionable silence for a while, just enjoying the presence of their new mate. Eventually, they start up a light hearted conversation, attempting to get to know each other better. Tobirama isn’t sure when he’s next going to get to see Madara and would like to learn as much about the other man as he can.

He learns that Madara likes sweet foods, prefers black teas, and enjoys reading about many subjects but especially history. Madara isn’t all that fond of math but is decent at it, he prefers cats to dogs but loves birds the best, and he’s good at calligraphy.

Madara learns that fish is Tobirama’s favorite food but he also enjoys eating fruit, and even enjoys fruit flavored teas. Tobirama does have a fondness for animals, but is reluctant to have a pet because of the attention the animal would need. He feels that during the war, his attention would be better spent training and creating new jutsu. The younger man enjoys learning about how the world works, studying different branches of science whenever he has free time.

They both value family, each caring deeply about their brothers. And even though Tobirama is the younger brother, he still feels protective of his brother like Madara does to Izuna. Half the time, Tobirama is acting like the older brother because of how naïve Hashirama acts.

If Tobirama hadn’t still been mildly sore from the day before, he would have asked Madara to spar with him. He actually found fighting to be enjoyable when it wasn’t a fight to the death. He thinks it would be fun to see his mate’s strength up close and to test himself against someone stronger than him without the threat of death.

Looking at Madara, he feels a flicker of heat shoot through him. The lust he’s feeling is not as strong as yesterday, yet more proof that his heat is winding down. He could probably ignore it at this point, but he wants to have that intimacy with Madara.

He rests his right hand on Madara’s face, tilting the other man’s head so he can press their mouths together. His lips part, allowing Madara’s tongue into his mouth, and the feeling of the other’s tongue caressing his own sends shivers down his spine. He moves his hand from Madara’s face to his hair, enjoying the feeling of the alpha’s soft hair sliding between his fingers.

Madara nips at Tobirama’s lower lip before moving his attention to the omega’s neck. He presses open mouthed kisses against Tobirama’s neck, tongue flicking out before teeth press down gently, earning him a breathless moan from the younger man. He then discovers that Tobirama’s ears are sensitive; sucking on the earlobes causes the younger man to claw at the ground while his hips jerk forward.

Wanting to make Madara feel good as well, Tobirama runs his fingers down the other man’s back, and then around to his abdomen, lingering at the areas that cause the other man to sigh in pleasure. He learns that Madara’s nipples are more sensitive than his own; sucking on them causes his alpha’s cock to become fully erect.

He grabs the waist of Madara’s pants, and slides them off after the other man lifts his hips. He quickly discards his own pants, and then tilts backwards until he’s lying on the ground, pulling the other man with him as he goes. His breath hitches as their groins rub together, sparks of pleasure shooting throughout his body.

Madara takes a moment to take in the sight beneath him: gaze roaming from Tobirama’s flushed face to toned muscles slick with sweat. The younger man’s stomach rises and falls in time with his panting breaths, while his erection occasionally lets out drops of precum.

He lets his hands roam over the omega’s chest, turned on by the strength he can feel in the younger man’s muscles. He leans down and presses his mouth against Tobirama’s hip, sucking on the skin to leave his mark. He licks his way from Tobirama’s abdomen to his chest, lingering at the areas that cause the younger man’s hips to rise.

Grabbing a handful of Madara’s hair, Tobirama gently tugs the other man up to press their mouths together. The erotic feel of their tongues sliding together has them both moaning. Teeth press gently on his bottom lip before Madara pulls back from their kiss, both of them panting for breath.

Madara runs his fingers from Tobirama’s inner thighs to his entrance, teasingly rubbing his finger against the younger man’s entrance. He slides two fingers in at once, knowing that the omega doesn’t need very much prep during his heat. He can tell that he’s located Tobirama’s prostrate when the younger man thrusts back against his fingers with a deep moan.

With his other hand, Madara grabs Tobirama’s hip and holds him down. He can see the frustration in the younger man’s eyes as he rubs lightly, teasingly, against his prostrate.

“Madara….stop…..teasing,” he says in between panting breaths.

With a smirk, Madara asks, “Why? Doesn’t it feel good?”

He opens his mouth to reply; but at that moment, Madara jabs a finger against his prostrate. “Nnhg…” For several moments, he can’t think past the pleasure as Madara rubs against the sensitive bundle of nerves inside him. And as Madara removes his fingers, he can’t help the disappointed whine that he lets out.

“So impatient,” says Madara, causing the other man to glare at him.

The disgruntled look on the omega’s face slowly turns into bliss as Madara slides into him. His fingers dig into Tobirama’s hips as the younger man’s inner walls clamp down around his cock. Once fully inside the other man, he has to pause for a moment as the pressure around his aching cock almost has him coming right then.

Tobirama wraps his legs around Madara’s hips as the man begins to thrust into him. His eyes fall closed, a moan slipping from his mouth as that spot inside him is hit over and over again. His nerves feel electrified, shocks of pleasure traveling throughout him every time Madara moves inside him. The pleasure builds inside him, until the feeling of teeth at his neck has his inner walls clenching down as he comes, muffling his scream by biting his hand.

Leaning forward, Madara sinks his teeth deep into his omega’s neck, the taste of his mate’s blood filling his mouth. He only manages a few more thrusts into his mate before the clenching muscles around his cock drags his orgasm from him. The pleasure overwhelms him, vision going white, as he empties his seed inside the other man. He shifts his hips, enjoying the pressure around his knot.

Tobirama squirms slightly at the feeling of Madara’s fluid filling him. He bites down hard on his lower lip as Madara’s knot expands, locking them together. He wonders why the thought of being stuck together like this has his cock twitching. He thinks he could get hard again, just from this, being stretched open on his alpha’s cock. Panting, he moves his hips to feel Madara’s knot tug at his inner walls.

Madara watches curiously as Tobirama squirms around. The lust in his omega’s eyes hasn’t gone away; if anything, it’s gotten stronger. And the constant tugging on his knot has kept him hard. He nudges his hips forward, pressing the head of his cock against the other’s man prostrate. He does it again as the other man lets out a breathless moan, feeling smug by how much his omega enjoys being fucked by him.

He wraps his fingers around the other’s man cock, rubbing his thumb against the slit with every stroke. Leaning forward, he swipes his tongue against his mate’s neck, lapping up the blood. He doesn’t know if other alphas enjoy blood the way he does, or if it’s just a personal quick of his. It doesn’t matter either way, though, as his mate seems to enjoy being bitten.

His omega’s walls clamp down around him as the younger man comes a second time with a soundless moan. After that, it doesn’t take Madara long before he has his own second orgasm. He sinks his teeth into Tobirama’s neck, pleasure overwhelming him as his climax hits.

_‘If he’s not pregnant after this, then it could only be because one of us is sterile,’_ thinks Madara, dazed. Then he has to wonder if that’s a possibility. Could Tobirama even get pregnant? The man was only an omega because of a jutsu, after all. But his heat was just like a normal omega’s, so there was a good chance that he could get pregnant.

Tobirama raises a hand to his neck, pressing his fingers against the bite mark. _‘That’s definitely going to leave a mark,’_ he thinks, amused. He reaches up and swipes his thumb against Madara’s mouth, wiping away the blood.

They rest against each other, inhaling the other’s scent, until Madara’s knot unswells, allowing them to separate. Tobirama can tell, instinctively, that his heat is over now, which means he and Madara will need to return to their clans. He wonders how Madara’s clan has reacted to the absence of their leader. By now, his own clan is used to him disappearing for a few days to work on a new jutsu. He knows better than to experiment with jutsu creation inside the clan compound; he won’t risk injuring his clan mates if one of his jutsus backfires.

“Izuna is probably worried by now,” mused Madara. “I’m surprised they haven’t sent out search parties.”

“Probably because they know that they don’t stand a chance against anyone strong enough to take you out,” replies Tobirama.

“True,” says Madara, smirking.

The two of them glance at each other, reluctant to leave. “From what I’ve heard of bonded couples, we’ll need to meet up with each other at least once a month. Our instincts will protest if we try to go longer than that,” says Madara.

“Should we have this as our meeting place?” asks Tobirama.

“Yes, we can meet back here a month from now. Hopefully, by then, we’ll have made progress in convincing our clans to get along,” replies Madara. The two of them say their good-byes and go their separate ways, back to their clans.

* * *

After departing from Madara, Tobirama heads straight to the Senju clan compound. Once at the edge of the compound, he concentrates on the seal he has located in his room and uses his teleportation jutsu to appear in the middle of his bedroom. To his relief, he doesn’t sense Hashirama in the house. He shares a small house with his brother, and is not yet ready to deal with the other man’s questions.

He grabs some clothes and heads for the shower. He needs to get as much of Madara’s scent off of him as possible before Hashirama gets home. The bonding scent won’t be immediately obvious, which will give him time to explain his change from Alpha to Omega before Hashirama notices that he’s bonded.

His omega instincts try to protest against washing his alpha’s scent off, but he ignores them. He won’t allow himself to be controlled by his instincts, whether alpha or omega. It’s as he’s getting dressed that he senses Hashirama get home. He sighs softly, and goes to greet his brother.

He finds Hashirama in the kitchen, preparing supper. The brunet glances up from the food he’s preparing and smiles. “Ah, Tobirama, welcome home. Did you manage to make whatever jutsu you were trying to create?” asks Hashirama, curiously.

Tobirama hadn’t told his brother what jutsu he was planning to create, just said that he should be back in a few days. “It half worked,” says Tobirama.

Hashirama looks at Tobirama, concerned. His brother has yet to make eye contact, which he knows means Tobirama is nervous. “What’s wrong?” he asks.

“Nothing is wrong, exactly. At least I don’t consider it a problem, but I know other people are going to react negatively,” says Tobirama. “The jutsu I was working on was a transformation jutsu, to change between omega and alpha. I was able to successfully turn myself into an omega, but I realized that I’ll need more medical knowledge before I can create a jutsu to turn myself back into an alpha.”

Hashirama is so surprised that his mouth actually falls open. He decides to focus on the most important thing first, his brother’s feelings. “Does it bother you to be an omega?” he asks.

“Not really,” replies Tobirama, shrugging nonchalantly. “You know I’ve never understood that whole ‘omegas are weak because they don’t have knots’ thing that so many alphas believe. I’m just annoyed that now they’re going to act like _I’m_ weak just because I now have a uterus.”

“Hmm. The Elders of our clan are rather set in their ways. Hopefully, they won’t act too ridiculous. Anyway, you said you should be able to change back with enough medical knowledge?” Hashirama asks.

“Yeah. I have to figure out how to remove the uterus safely. Though even after I create the jutsu, I’ll need to wait nine months before changing back,” says Tobirama casually.

Hashirama stares at Tobirama, puzzled, before he realizes what his brother was implying. His gaze dropped to the other man’s stomach. “You’re pregnant?!” he asks, almost yelling.

“I do believe so. I ended up going into heat shortly after transforming and the heat only lasted three days, so….pregnancy. Yay,” says Tobirama sarcastically.

Hashirama frowns, “Someone found you while you were in heat?” Had someone taken advantage of his brother?

“Yes, though before you start acting all ‘overprotective alpha,’ you should know that it was consensual. He found me just as the heat was beginning and I gave consent,” replies Tobirama.

“Okay,” says Hashirama. “You know, I have noticed that you haven’t told me who the father is.”

Deciding to just get it over with, Tobirama bluntly states, “Madara Uchiha.”

For a moment, Hashirama has to wonder if he’s hallucinating. His brother, the one who is always saying not to trust the Uchiha, has had sex with the leader of the Uchiha clan? “I feel really confused right now. You don’t like the Uchiha, so why…?”

Tobirama runs his fingers through his hair, embarrassed. “Yes, well, I may have been mistaken, at least concerning Madara. I’d have to meet the rest of his clan to form a different opinion on them. I still think we should be cautious, as we _are_ at war, but I no longer think peace is impossible,” he says.

Hashirama gives him a beaming smiling, obviously delighted, before coming up and hugging him. He can tell the moment his brother notices the bond scent as every muscle in his brother’s body tenses. Hashirama pulls back from the hug, looking astonished. “You’re bonded?”

“Yes, Madara and I have a lot in common,” replies Tobirama.

_‘Well, at least now I know Madara must have treated Tobirama well during his heat or they wouldn’t have bonded,’_ thinks Hashirama, relieved.

“When do you want to tell the clan what’s happened? I think it’ll be better to make an announcement rather than waiting for them to figure it out themselves,” says Hashirama.

“I think tomorrow would be best. Right now, I need food and sleep,” replies Tobirama.

Hashirama remembers the food he was preparing and quickly finishes making them supper. After the meal, the brother’s bid each other good-night before heading to bed.

* * *

 

The next day is filled with a lot of yelling old people as Tobirama explains the situation to his clan. Although the younger generation doesn’t look happy about his bond with Madara, they at least aren’t making stupid comments about him now being an omega. One of the idiots even suggests he shouldn’t be allowed to fight anymore.

Irritated, Tobirama flashes through several hand signs, creating a large wave of water that knocks the idiot, Takeshi, several feet across the ground. He stalks up to the man, scowling. Takeshi stares up at him, still sprawled on the ground, half-drowned. “Did you assume that when my knot disappeared that I forgot everything I learned as a ninja?” asks Tobirama.

He noticed that some of the Senju around his own age are laughing. They, at least, seem convinced that he can still fight. Hashirama walks up to Takeshi and Tobirama before Takeshi can retaliate. “I think that’s enough. We shouldn’t fight amongst each other,” says Hashirama in his ‘I mean business,’ tone of voice.

“Hashirama,” says Takeshi, “What are you planning on doing about your brother’s bond to that Uchiha?”

“What do you mean?” asks Hashirama.

“I mean, that a bonded omega and alpha can’t fight each other. I think it would be best for the clan if their bond was broken,” replies Takeshi.

Tobirama scowls at the other man. He knew that someone was going to suggest breaking the bond, but the betrayal he was feeling was a surprise. He had always tried to do what was right for the clan, even fighting a war he didn’t believe in since childhood. This bond could not only pave the way for peace between their two clans, it might even bring Tobirama some measure of happiness. Why did they want to take that away from him? How much was he expected to sacrifice for his clan?

Of course, he knew there was no guarantee that things would work out between him and Madara. However, from what he had learned about the man during those three days, he believed they could get along. Madara was both a warrior and a scholar, just like him. And Madara had not been raised to be submissive like an omega. He had always been uncomfortable around the stereotypical omega, preferring to be around someone who could be his equal. He had always assumed, until now, that to have a mate he could be happy with, he would have to forgo having children to marry a beta.

He shakes his head at the other Senju man. “You’re wrong. The thing that would benefit this clan the most is peace, instead of endless bloodshed.”

Takeshi scowls at him. “We will have peace when all of the Uchiha are dead.”

Tobirama gives him an unimpressed stare. “Do you believe we are somehow superior to our ancestors, Takeshi? We are no closer to eliminating the Uchiha clan than they were. If you have a never before seen plan that is sure to succeed, then I’d like to hear it.”

The other man stayed silent, knowing he was beaten.

“The only way to end this bloodshed is through peace, not more bloodshed. I _know_ it will be difficult. I’m not asking you to suddenly love the Uchihas. They have done terrible things to our clan, but we have been just as horrible to them. It will take time for us to learn to get along. The first step towards peace is acknowledging that the Uchihas are as human as we are, not monsters,” says Tobirama.

He can see that his words are getting through to some of them, especially the younger generation who are still capable of hope. The elders of the clan are full of bitterness and hatred, but he can see that some of them are thinking about what he’s said.

Perhaps he needed to be even more persuasive? Peace is an abstract thought; he needed to come up with a list of how an alliance between the Uchiha and Senju would benefit both clans. The Uchiha were not the Senju’s only enemies, and vice-versa. The other clans would be unlikely to challenge the Uchiha and Senju if they were allied, as they were the two strongest clans in Fire Country. And there was just a lot more the two clans could accomplish if they weren’t wasting their resources fighting each other all the time.

Hashirama called the meeting to an end soon after that, realizing that his brother had nothing more to say for the moment. The two of them then head back inside and began discussing what they could say to convince their clan that peace was the best option.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter, we see Madara's reunion with his clan.


	4. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this chapter is like eighty percent dialogue.

As soon as Madara entered the clan compound, Izuna was right there in front of him. “Brother, I was starting to wonder if I was going to have to send out a search party. You’ve been gone for three days! How did a walk in the woods to clear your head turn into a three day absence?” asks Izuna.

“You can’t figure it out from my scent?” asks Madara, smiling.

Izuna gets closer, sniffing the air curiously. His eyes widen. “Is that an omega heat scent?” he asks, baffled. “Why was there an omega in the woods?”

“I think his reasons for being out there, as well as his identity, are best said in private,” replies Madara.

Surprised, Izuna agrees, following his brother back to their house. Though, if that had truly been a bonding scent that he had smelled, the two of them may need to find separate lodgings soon. It was fine for them to live together while they were both single, but generally siblings don’t live with each other after they get married.

“So who is this omega?” asks Izuna after they’re behind closed doors.

Deciding that there’s no point in stalling, Madara says, “Tobirama Senju.”

The name has Izuna’s eyes briefly flickering to the Sharingan before returning to their natural state. Izuna’s first instinct is to demand why his brother would bond with a _Senju_ before something startling occurs to him. “I thought Tobirama was an alpha?” he asks, confused.

“He was,” replies Madara with an amused smirk. “You know that he has a tendency to invent jutsu, don’t you? It turns out that he was experimenting with an alpha-to-omega jutsu. He thought he would be able to transform back with the same jutsu, but it wasn’t that simple.”

“Why couldn’t he turn back?” asks Izuna, curious.

“He needed more medical knowledge. Apparently it’s easier to grow a uterus than to get rid of one. Tobirama explained that the body has the information needed to grow organs; he mentioned something called DNA. It’s like how an omega can have alpha children even though they themselves don’t have a knot, or they could have male children when they’re female. Our DNA has the information necessary to grow these things; but to safely remove organs, you have to know how everything is connected to each other,” replies Madara.

Izuna pauses to let this information sink in. “I think I understand what you’re trying to say. So, Tobirama was stuck as an omega when you found him?”

Madara nods his head. “Yes, and he had just gone into heat.”

Izuna gives him a really unimpressed stare. “And you just decided to have sex with him?” he asks, incredulously.

Madara frowns at him. “No, not just like that. Before I had run into him, I had been thinking of ways to bring our two clans together. When I saw him, I thought ‘what better way to unite two clans than through a marriage?’ I’ve read a lot about history, and it’s rather common for warring clans to arrange a marriage between someone important from each clan as a way of achieving peace.”

“Except this wasn’t arranged ahead of time; you just made the decision yourself,” says Izuna.

Madara shrugs. “Our clans need a push in the right direction. Tell me, Izuna, do you honestly want to have children in an era of bloodshed? You remember our brothers, don’t you? Can you honestly tell me, that if you have children, you’ll be okay with sending them to their deaths?”

Izuna hesitates. “Well, no. I’d want to protect my children, just like anyone else.”

“And yet so many people in our clan are willing to let their children onto the battlefield,” mused Madara. “We’ve become used to death. The idea of sending their seven year old children to battle against full grown adults should shock and horrify them, but they’ve become desensitized to it.”

Izuna tilts his head, contemplative. “They’re ignoring their protective instincts, aren’t they? Alphas are supposed to be willing to fight to the death to keep their family safe.”

“Yes,” says Madara, frowning. “Except they’ve gotten this weird idea into their head that the _only_ way to keep their family safe is to keep fighting against the Senju. They don’t realize how counterproductive that is.”

“Mother was devastated when our brothers died,” remembers Izuna.

A look of sorrow could be briefly seen in Madara’s eyes. “Omegas are supposed to be even more protective of their children, did you know that? If the alpha dies, an omega has to be able to fight to keep their children safe. They grow the child inside them for nine months, raise them, and yet somehow they’re then able to let the child be sent out to war?”

Madara paces across the living room, scowling. “Personally, I think it’s a form of brainwashing. You know, we have a somewhat outdated idea that the omegas are supposed to obey their alphas. People act like omegas are weaker than alphas and need protection. We brainwash them into following along with whatever their alpha decides for the family, even if it goes against their instincts. I have a feeling that if omegas were treated equally, they would not have allowed their children to be sent into war. In fact, they probably would have hit their alpha for even suggesting such a thing.”

“Huh. You must feel strongly about this, to be so talkative. Usually, I’m the chatterbox of the family,” says Izuna. Though his words were light-hearted, he had a solemn expression.

“You’ve convinced me, at least, that war is a bad idea. Perhaps your bond with the Senju will allow you to convince the others. Though I am curious about what you two must have talked about to create a bond in the first place. Politics aren’t enough for that, you have to feel some sort of affection for the other person, don’t you?” asks Izuna.

Madara stops pacing, trying to put into words what attracted him to Tobirama. “Hmm….he’s intelligent and rather creative. Not many people would have thought to create a jutsu that can change your secondary gender. He’s also practical and a realist. He’s talented with creating jutsu. Not many people would have been able to create a teleportation seal.”

“That last part is probably because of his clan’s alliance to the Uzumaki; I imagine they supply his clan with sealing scrolls,” says Izuna.

“Yes, but the scroll didn’t tell him how to teleport, or else all the other Uzumaki would be teleporting everywhere. Those scrolls merely taught him what the seals do and how to link them together,” says Madara. “And he’s not just a scholar. Tobirama is the second strongest Senju in his clan. The only ones stronger than him in Fire Country are Hashirama and I. Perhaps you could beat him; I know the two of you are close in strength, but he is faster.”

Izuna scowls. “Hmph, he’s only faster because of the teleporting trick.” His scowl fades as he ponders his brother’s words. “So you like him because he can act as your equal?”

“Yes, I prefer having a partner who’s equal to me, not one of those stereotypical weak omegas,” replies Madara.

“Does Tobirama agree with that? You were both raised as alphas, will that cause friction between the two of you?” asks Izuna.

“I think he shares my views about omegas, actually. It’s likely that he would have taken a beta mate, if he had stayed an alpha,” says Madara.

Izuna tilts his head as something occurs to him. “Tobirama’s heat was only three days, wasn’t it?” At Madara’s nod of agreement, he continues. “Can he get pregnant, since he’s only an omega because of a jutsu?”

“I’m not really sure, but I think he is. His heat was normal, and he was able to bond like an omega. It’s very likely that in nine months’ time, the first Senju/Uchiha baby will be born,” replies Madara.

“Huh, I wonder how strong the kid will be, having two of the strongest people in Fire Country as his parents,” says Izuna. “Also, is the kid going to be the heir to the clan? Normally, the first born of the Clan head inherits leadership of the clan, but the Clan head doesn’t usually have children with the enemy.”

“Well, if the child activates the Sharingan and ends up as strong as I am, then the Elders will probably demand he be the heir,” says Madara, smirking. “But Tobirama will get a say in this, since he’s the one having the kid.”

“Speaking of the Elders, you’re going to have to tell them about your bond with Tobirama. I’m sure that’ll be a fun conversation,” says Izuna. He moves from the living to the kitchen, preparing them cups of tea. “Do you have any idea how you’re going to tell them about this, in a way that will get them to agree with your plans of peace?”

Madara follows his brother to the kitchen, taking a seat at the table off to the side. “I’m going to try diplomacy first, tell them all the ways peace could benefit the clan. And if that doesn’t work, I’m going to refuse to fight the Senju.”

Izuna gives Madara a puzzled glance, setting two cups of tea on the table as he sits across from his brother. “You think that will make them agree?”

“No one else in this clan can match Hashirama. If I don’t fight, they can’t win,” says Madara. His lips pull down into a frown as he continues. “It’s possible that some of them won’t agree, even then. There is a possibility that the clan will get split into two, those who can’t give up their fight with the Senju and those too sensible to fight a hopeless war. If Hashirama and Tobirama refuse to fight our clan, the same could happen with the Senju.”

Izuna’s fingers tap against the table as he thinks. “The faction of Uchiha and Senju who still want to fight will wipe each other out, leaving only those of us who want peace. It is one option, though I hope it won’t come to that. If possible, I would like us to be able to convince everyone to end this war,” replies Izuna.

“Then we’ll list reasons why we think peace is the better option. For one thing, our children won’t have to die before they hit puberty,” says Madara.

“It’s not just the children who die, either. If the war ends, there will be less alphas dying, leaving their omegas to raise the children by themselves,” says Izuna.

“We wouldn’t have to worry about the Senju sabotaging our missions, cutting into our profits,” says Madara.

“Which means we could actually afford luxury items, instead of having to buy only the bare necessities,” replies Izuna. “We don’t need much, but I think everyone likes to buy something nice every once in a while. A toy for their children, a book to read, a new outfit, a necklace for their wives.”

Surprise briefly flashed through Madara’s eyes. “That had not occurred to me. I could get more history books and jutsu scrolls. And with less fighting, I’d actually have time to read them. Everyone would then have the time to pursue their hobbies. Though, we do have enemies beside the Senju.”

“And the Senju have more enemies than just us. You know, if the Senju and Uchiha clans work together, the other clans might not be so quick to pick a fight with us. You wanted to create a village with Hashirama, didn’t you? If the Senju and Uchiha clans lived next to each other, then it would be easier to defend our combined territory from an enemy,” says Izuna.

Madara’s fingers tapped against the table. “Perhaps, but it’s also more difficult to create a seal barrier around a large area. The two clans can combine our knowledge of seals to create a stronger seal barrier than what we currently have around both compounds; but a village is too large to protect in such a way.”

Izuna’s mouth turned down into a worried frown. “So we’d be _less_ safe living in a village together?” he asks.

“Unfortunately, yes, but if there are enough ninjas living in the village who want to keep everyone safe, then we should be fine,” replies Madara. “At the moment, no other country has a ninja village. We’ll be the first, and that will give us time to perfect our security measures before other villages form.”

“You sound quite certain that other villages will form. Why?” asks Izuna.

“Because I intend to make this village so successful that the other countries would have to be stupid not to copy our example,” says Madara, smirking.

“Alright. Now we just need to convince the others. I suppose we’ll hold a clan meeting tomorrow?” Izuna asked with a smile, amused by Madara’s boast.

“Yes, first thing tomorrow morning, after everyone has had breakfast,” replies Madara. “We need to make note of everyone’s expression when we start listing our reasons for peace with the Senju. I’m sure that we’ll need to speak to them, individually; and having an idea of which reasons they’ll be more swayed by will help.”

Nodding seriously, Izuna says, “I’ll keep an eye out.”

* * *

The next morning, all the adults of the clan gather into their meeting hall. The front of the room contains a table and chairs for the Elders and Clan Head to sit while the rest of the room contains dozens of chairs facing the table for everyone else to sit.

Madara and Izuna stand in the front of the room, between the table and rows of chairs. Once everyone is seated, Madara begins his announcement. “Four days ago, I ran into an omega in the forest outside our clan compound. To my surprise, this omega had just begun their heat cycle.”

He can see the surprise he had felt mirrored in his clan’s eyes. It was rather unusual for an omega to venture outside during their heat cycle. “After talking with the omega, he agreed to let me help him through his heat. What neither of us had expected, was that a bond would form between us.”

“You’re bonded?” asks Elder Seiichi. He turns to look at the other man and raises his eyebrow.

“You can’t smell the bonding scent?” asks Madara, walking closer. As soon as Madara is within a foot of the other man, Seiichi nods his head.

“You really are bonded,” says Elder Yoshihiro. “It’s amazing that you found an omega you like enough to bond with, just randomly hanging out in the woods.”

Madara shrugs. “Life is odd that way, I suppose.”

“I’m curious to know why you didn’t bring your omega home with you,” says Elder Mitsue. “I assume you would not have left him before his heat was over, meaning he had a three day heat. Why would you not bring your pregnant mate here where you can protect him?”

Madara gives him a flat stare for a moment, unimpressed by the Elder’s old-fashioned way of thinking. “Assuming that he’ll need protection, he already has a clan that can keep him safe. And considering who my mate is, he’ll be safer there than he would be here.”

Elder Noriko leans forward, placing her arms on the table. “Are you saying that your mate is from any enemy clan?” she asks.

“Yes,” he replies bluntly.

“Why would you mate with an enemy?” demands Elder Hitoshi.

Madara gives him an amused look. “I suppose it would be difficult for a beta to understand the appeal of an omega in heat. It’s not an easy scent to ignore.”

He can hear a few muffles snickers from the audience behind him. Hitoshi frowns at them before turning his attention back to Madara. “Sex is one thing, but you formed a bond with this omega. Were you aware at the time that he was an enemy?”

“Yes. I’ve seen him many times on the battlefield,” replies Madara.

“Why did you bond with an enemy and just what is the name of your mate?” asks Seiichi.

Everyone in the audience gave Madara curious, expectant look. He sighs. “The bond was able to form because I have a lot in common with the omega. I was willing to let a bond form with him because I wish to make peace with his clan. In my opinion, the war has gone on long enough. As to the identity of my mate, his name is Tobirama Senju.”

There was a shocked silence from everyone in the room. He could see that people in the audience wanted to get up and start shouting, but they knew better. During this meeting only the Elders, Clan Head, and Clan Heir could speak freely. Everyone else had to be given permission by them to speak up.

Those who could not control themselves during these meeting were punished accordingly. After all, it would be complete chaos if everyone started shouting at once. He wondered if the Senju were as organized as his clan. Considering their clan leader was Hashirama, he kind of doubted it.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” blurts out Elder Nozomi. “What on earth possessed you to mate with a Senju? The animosity between our two clans cannot be destroyed so easily.”

Izuna speaks up before he can. “Just because something isn’t easy, does not mean it isn’t worth doing. We’ve been at war with the Senju clan for hundreds of years, with nothing to show for it except dead bodies. No one can even remember why this war started in the first place. Are we to be slaves to our ancestors’ whims? I, for one, would like to be able to raise my future children without the constant threat of death hanging over them.”

Izuna turns towards the audience; he can tell that his words are getting through to some of them. “Every year, we lose more of our people to this war. Children who haven’t even gone through puberty yet, teenagers that will now never have a mate of their own, and omegas are forced to raise the children by themselves when their husbands die.”

Izuna resists the urge to pace, not wanting his movements to distract them from his words. “Now, some of you would say that these deaths are reason enough to keep fighting the Senju. You want revenge for the death of your loved ones, but what price are you willing to pay for this revenge? Will you sacrifice your child to avenge the death of your brother?”

He can see that his words are having an impact. A few of them have gone white as they realize just what continuing this war will cost them. As far as he can tell, he’s managed to convince about half the room, and age doesn’t seem to have anything to do with it. There aren’t any more elderly than young adults who are convinced; it’s an even split between them.

Izuna is guessing that the elderly who agree with him are tired of fighting and losing their family; while the ones who want to keep fighting are too full of hatred and bitter about losing their loved ones to consider peace. The young adults that want to fight don’t understand war and loss yet, while the ones that are content with peace simply have no reason to fight the Senju like their elders do.

“How inspirational,” drawled Elder Mitsue mockingly. “You almost make it sound like peace is the only option, but I disagree. There is too much bloodshed between our clans for peace to ever succeed.”

Madara scowls at Mitsue, pissed off that the man is mocking his younger brother. “Peace is only an impossibility when you refuse to try,” says Madara. “Your stubbornness will only result in the deaths of our clansmen.”

“And what about our clansmen that have already died? They sacrificed their lives in the attempt to eliminate the Senju clan. Are we to render their sacrifice meaningless by making peace with their murderers?” asks Mitsue.

“I think a better question would be: Are we to render their sacrifice meaningless by sending their family and friends onto the battlefield to die? As this war has no point, their sacrifice is _already_ meaningless,” says Izuna harshly. “Staying at war with the Senju won’t bring our clansmen back to life.”

Nozomi watches the exchange between Izuna and Mitsue, exasperated. Neither one is going to relent; at this rate, they’ll be here all day. Interrupting them, she asks, “Considering that this entire argument started because of Madara’s bond to Tobirama, is there truly any other option besides peace? If we stay at war, then Madara’s child will be raised by the Senju as our enemy. If the child develops the Sharingan, it could be disastrous for our clan.”

Mitsue frowns deeply at her words. “The obvious solution to that problem is to retrieve the child and raise him here. The Sharingan belongs to the Uchiha clan.”

Nozomi glances to the audience, noticing how tense all the omegas in the room have gotten. “Considering how anti-Senju you are, I’m assuming that instead of inviting the omega to live in the compound, you just suggested stealing his child from him,” she says, with a touch of disbelief in her words.

“That’s right,” replies Mitsue.

Almost instantly, every omega of all ages and genders stand up and glare at Elder Mitsue. From their furious expressions, Nozomi was sure it was only a matter of time before they ignored the ‘no speaking without permission’ rule. No one that angry could hold their tongue.

One of the female omegas makes eye-contact with Madara, so he nods for her to speak. She nods back before turning her attention towards Mitsue. “Are you insane?” she asks. “How could you even suggest such a vile thing? To steal a child from an omega is one of the most vile things I can think of. I have a two year old son, and I know that I would rather die than let someone steal him from me. And I’d kill anyone who tried it.”

Madara can see many of the omegas nodding in agreement with her words; and even their alpha mates have started to look angry at the kidnapping idea. Good. Despite how much he wanted to be a part of his child’s life, he would kill anyone who attempted to steal Tobirama’s child from him, even if their intention was to give the child to himself. His instincts wouldn’t allow him to let someone hurt his mate in such a way.

“Well, I think it’s clear that we have a majority agreement from the clan that we shall _not_ be stealing anyone’s children,” says Nozomi dryly. She can see that Mitsue wants to protest, but one look at the audience has him shutting his mouth.

“Well, at least our clan has some morals,” says Izuna cheerfully.

Izuna then looks out at the audience, a cold look in his eyes. “Kidnapping children, that’s too much, right? And yet, we’ll send our own children out to die as soon as they’re old enough to throw a kunai,” he says scornfully.

Some scowl back at him, while others avert their eyes, looking guilty. He hears one of the elders behind him sigh. “Perhaps we should call this meeting to a close for today,” says Elder Seiichi. “We all need time to think about what has been said.”

“I concur. I propose that we meet again in a week’s time,” says Elder Sora.

The rest of the Elders voice their agreement; and with that, the meeting is over. The omegas, who are still standing, storm out of the room first. The Alpha and betas then shuffle out of the room after them. Before the Elders can start trying to talk to them, Madara and Izuna quickly exit the building, not wanting to spend another hour arguing.

They head back to their house and sit at the kitchen table with paper and pen. They need to write down what they remember of the meeting while it’s still fresh in their minds. They only have a week to talk to their clansmen before the next meeting. In that amount of time, they’re hoping to be able to convince enough of their clansmen that peace is the best option to win a majority vote. Technically, the decision could be made with a vote from just the Elders, but Madara is worried that too many of them are set in their ways. Their plan is more likely to succeed if everyone in the clan is allowed to vote.

“Well, I have no idea how we could convince Mitsue, but Nozomi seemed more reasonable, didn’t she?” asks Izuna.

“Yes, and a few of the others seemed swayed by your speech earlier. It seems like Sora, Nozomi, Noriko, Seiichi, and Shusuke will be the Elders most likely to vote in favor of peace,” replies Madara.

“And we should be able to convince the omegas to vote in our favor. If they vote for war instead, then they’d also be voting in favor of kidnapping children,” says Izuna.

Madara grimaces. “Mitsue is an idiot. It’s like he has a special talent for pissing off omegas.”

“Yeah,” agrees Izuna, writing something down. “During the meeting, we managed to talk about the whole not dying reason for peace, but not the materialistic one. From what I know of Hisato, I think he would be more persuaded by material gain than about morality.”

“And his omega wife seemed pretty ticked off by Mitsue’s comments; she could help influence Hisato into voting for peace,” says Madara.

“So we have a plan for six out of the ten Elders. We can already guess how Mitsue is going to vote. What’s your opinion on Tadaaki, Yoshihiro, and Hitoshi?” asks Izuna.

“Hmm. Tadaaki is a practical type of man. If he thinks peace will benefit the clan the most, then that’s how he’ll vote. Hitoshi lost a brother to the Senju clan. He’ll be difficult to convince, but perhaps we can talk to his sister. She currently has a couple of sons; perhaps she can talk Hitoshi into voting for peace to save the lives of his nephews. And Yoshihiro has already lost one son to the Senju clan; perhaps he can be persuaded not to lose the other one, or his grandchildren,” says Madara.

When they were finished discussing the Elders, they switched their conversation to the rest of the clan. They made three separate lists: those that were most likely to want peace, those that were somewhere in the middle, and those that were determined to keep fighting. Beside each person’s name, they wrote what was most likely to sway that person’s mind towards peace.

“I think that’s enough for today. We’ll talk to some of them tomorrow,” says Madara and receives a nod from Izuna.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The table the Elders were sitting at is very long, with ten chairs on one side, facing the audience. There are two chairs on either side of the table for the Clan Head and Clan Heir (who is currently Izuna). This large room is only used when all of the adults of the clan need to have a meeting. If it’s just the Elders conversing, then they have an office room with a smaller table in it. 
> 
> The Senju have less organized meetings than the Uchiha Clan. They don’t have a meeting room, they just all gather together outside on one of the training grounds. 
> 
> The Clan Elders:
> 
> Seiichi Uchiha: male alpha  
> Shusuke Uchiha: male alpha  
> Tadaaki Uchiha: male alpha  
> Yoshihiro Uchiha: male alpha  
> Mitsue Uchiha: male alpha  
> Hitoshi Uchiha: male beta  
> Hisato Uchiha: male alpha  
> Noriko Uchiha: female alpha  
> Nozomi Uchiha: female alpha  
> Sora Uchiha: female alpha


	5. Chapter Five

Tobirama’s opinion of Hashirama’s tendency to give optimistic speeches had went from ‘annoying’ to ‘useful.’ It had only been a week and his brother had already convinced half the clan to make peace with the Uchiha. About half the Elders, all of the omegas, and some of the alphas and betas from the younger generation were now firmly convinced that peace would benefit the clan more than war.

It was mostly the alphas and betas age forty and up who were being the most stubborn. They were too full of hatred and bitterness to be easily swayed by Hashirama’s charismatic speeches.

Sitting next to him on the couch, his brother pouts. “Why are they being so stubborn?” asks Hashirama, almost whining. Tobirama sighs.

“Perhaps you should take a different approach to convincing them?” he suggests. “If your moral talk isn’t swaying them, then try to talk about the other benefits.”

“Like what?” asks Hashirama, confused.

“Resources. Materialistic gain, basically. Greed is a good motivator for some people,” he replies. “If we’re not always fighting the Uchiha, and they’re not trying to sabotage our missions, then we’ll be able to earn enough money for luxury items.”

Hashirama hmms in thought. “It seems odd to me, that people can care more about that than the lives of their clansmen.”

Tobirama shrugs. “People are weird. But it’s probably because death can seem like an abstract concept. No one really believes they’re going to die until they’re bleeding out on the ground. Money is something physical, that they can see and touch.”

Hashirama nods his head, looking determined. “I won’t give up, Tobirama. There _will_ be peace between our two clans; and eventually, we’ll be able to build a village together.”

“You’ve mentioned that before, a village where children don’t have to die. But have you thought about how the village will work, and how we’re going to build it?” asks Tobirama.

“Um, I have some ideas. There needs to be a place for housing, a market district, a school, a library, and some training grounds. I’m not really an architect, though. I was thinking we could ask someone who knows how to build houses for help with that,” says Hashirama.

“Which means we’ll need money to hire people, or get books on building so we can do it ourselves,” replies Tobirama, feeling somewhat exasperated. Did his brother have any idea how expensive it was to build an entire village? “There is the possibility that if you know enough about how houses look then you would be able to build some of them with your Mokuton.”

Hashirama had managed to create individual pieces of furniture before: a table, some chairs, and bedframe. He could learn how to build the framework of the house and then create the furniture for it. “Your dream may not be impossible, after all,” says Tobirama, earning a beaming smile from Hashirama.

With a renewed sense of determination, Hashirama stood up. “I’m going to go talk to them again,” says Hashirama before walking out the door. Tobirama watches him go with an amused smile.

_‘They don’t stand a chance,’_ thinks Tobirama, _‘Brother is more stubborn than all of them combined.’_

While his brother is talking to various clansmen, Tobirama spends the day inside, reading medical texts. Hopefully by the time his pregnancy is over, he’ll have created a jutsu to turn back into an alpha. He may not choose to stay an alpha, though, if it interferes with his bond to Madara. Still, it’ll be easier to convince other people to use the jutsu if it’s easily reversible.

And if it becomes easy to switch between alpha and omega, then gender stereotypes will be rendered pointless. There were other benefits as well. A beta could change into an omega or alpha if they wanted to have children. And if he could modify the jutsu to turn someone into a beta, then alphas and omegas who don’t want to deal with heats and ruts could become betas.

The only setback was that it required chakra to use, which means civilians wouldn’t be able to use it. The obvious solution to that, of course, was to make it so that the jutsu could be cast on someone else. There was a risk to that, though. He didn’t want people to be able to change another’s secondary gender without their permission.

Tobirama got out paper and pen and began to take notes about what he was reading. As he looked at the anatomy diagrams, he thought it was a good thing that he didn’t have a weak stomach. The insides of a human being was not a pretty sight.

His brother comes back a few hours later, looking tired but triumphant. “I’ve convinced Elders Hikari, Tatsuo, Aiko, and Isao to agree to a peace treaty with the Uchiha. And a few of the alphas overheard my conversation with the Elders, and seemed to be considering my words.”

Tobirama gives him a small smile. “Hmm, perhaps we’ll have everyone convinced by the end of the month then,” he says, amused. “And if Madara is as successful with his clan, then when I meet up with him, we could begin negotiating a peace treaty.”

Hashirama blinks at him. “You have plans to meet?” he asks.

“Yes, at the end of the month. You know bonded couples start to get agitated if they’re separated for more than a month at a time. I’ll be meeting him at the same part of the forest that he found me in,” replies Tobirama.

A contemplative look enters Hashirama’s eyes. “I don’t want to interrupt your reunion with your mate; but if I go with you, I can act as the Clan Head to negotiate a peace treaty with Madara.”

Tobirama frowns at Hashirama, but knows his brother is right. “If you stay back at first, then I suppose it’s okay.” Mates tended to want to reacquaint themselves with touch after a long separation. It wouldn’t need to be sex, but Tobirama didn’t want an audience when kissing Madara, either.

Hashirama nods his head in agreement before sitting across from Tobirama. “You might consider talking to a mid-wife to find out what to expect during pregnancy.” Hashirama had enough medical knowledge to heal injuries, but he had never learned about pregnancies and giving birth. “And perhaps Healer Yuuna would be able to help you learn about the anatomy of an omega.”

“I’ll talk to her tomorrow, then. Thank you for the suggestion,” says Tobirama. He gets out a new piece of paper and begins making a list of questions he plans to ask her.

_What should pregnant people not eat? What should they eat?_

_When do babies begin to eat solid food? How long am I supposed to breast feed?_

_When does morning sickness begin, and how do I deal with it?_

_When will I begin to show? How big is my stomach going to get?_

_Do pregnant people really start to crave weird foods?_

Hashirama looks at his list curiously. “I remember that Mother ate some weird combinations of foods when she was pregnant with our brothers. But I think it depends on the person, some people have stronger cravings than others when pregnant.”

Tobirama’s mouth turns down into a frown. “Weird in what way?” he asks.

“Ah, well, she just mixed foods together that wouldn’t normally taste good combined. She especially seemed to like sour foods, even though she normally had a sweet tooth. Maybe a person’s taste buds just change when they’re pregnant,” replies Hashirama.

“Hmm, I hope not. I don’t want to start eating weird things,” mutters Tobirama.

Hashirama laughs a bit. “You’ll be fine,” he says cheerfully. “Don’t worry so much.”

Glancing down at the list, Hashirama says, “You might want to ask her about mood swings as well. Pregnancy hormones can mess with people’s emotions. I think it’ll be easier to deal with if you aren’t surprised when your emotions start acting haywire.”

“Right,” says Tobirama, writing it down with a scowl.

* * *

The next day, he goes over to the Senju’s small clinic, where Healer Yuuna can usually be found in the mornings. She doesn’t have any patients at the moment, so she’s happy to answer his questions.

He learns that during the first trimester, the breasts have a tendency to be sore as the body adapts to create milk for the baby. She also tells him that getting tired more often is normal, and that the growing fetus will likely put pressure on his bladder, causing him to pee more often.

She mentions nesting, which he’s vaguely heard about. Apparently, during pregnancy, omegas have a tendency to prepare someplace that they can give birth. For a lot of omegas, this means piling a bunch of pillows and blankets together. She also tells him that some omegas feel the instinct to clean around the house, to make sure that the house isn’t filled with germs that can harm the infant’s still developing immune system.

Another thing to worry about was his hair and nails. Sometimes a person’s nails would grow weaker during pregnancy, while others would grow stronger and grow more often. Hopefully, it would the latter for him. He would need to eat foods high in calcium, just in case. Also, his hair might start to grow more often, which was an annoying thought. He liked his hair the length it was; he wasn’t interested in long hair like Hashirama’s.

Yuuna gave him a tea to help with nausea, explaining that he may or may not experience morning sickness. And contrary to the name, morning sickness doesn’t always happen in the morning. She also suggested that he get some sort of plastic or water-resistant sheet to place on top of his nest while he was delivering the baby. Apparently, there was a lot of fluids that exited the body while giving birth.

Feeling somewhat creeped out, Tobirama leaves the clinic with a list of foods to avoid during pregnancy. One of the things listed is ‘no raw or undercooked meats’, which means he should avoid certain types of sushi. He would also need to avoid any fish that was high in mercury, as well as raw sprouts, though he didn’t really eat that anyway. And, he already knew that he was supposed to avoid drinking alcohol and caffeinated drinks. Luckily, he had a few caffeine free teas that tasted good.

And the list also says he should eat foods with fiber, such as apples, avocados, chickpeas, pears, and peanuts. The apple tree in their backyard is currently producing apples, so he’ll have plenty of them to eat.

_‘Now what should I do?’_ he wonders. _‘Hmm, I know what to do during the pregnancy, what about after it? I don’t know what all a baby needs, or what to expect. I should talk to someone who’s had children.’_

He looked at the sun, seeing it was probably about one in the afternoon right now. He knew that there was a group of middle aged omegas who met in the afternoons to talk about their day, and do crafts together. He searches for their chakra signatures and finds them hanging out in the Senju clan’s miniature park. It’s not a very big park: it’s a flat area of land covered in grass, with a few trees, and a sandbox and slide for the younger children to play with.

The omegas have placed down a large blanket off to the side; one of them occasionally looking up to check on the children. They notice him when he’s a few feet away and smile in welcome. “Good morning, Tobirama-san,” greets Hana. “What brings you here today?”

He sits down on the blanket, feeling somewhat awkward. “I was wondering if you’d be willing to answer some questions about how to take care of children.”

She grins brightly in response. “We’d be happy to answer your questions.” The others voice their agreement. Relieved, he starts talking to them about what to expect when raising a child.

“Well, the first thing to be aware of is that your child is going to grow quite a bit at first. Newborns are smaller than six months old, and a one year old toddler is larger than both. You’re going to need to get new clothes every time they get bigger. I still have some outfits from when my child was an infant that I can give to you, as do some of my friends,” says Hana.

“You’ll also need a crib,” says Natsuo, one of the male omegas in the group. “It’s best not to sleep with the child in your bed; you might roll over them in your sleep.”

“And you’ll need plenty of blankets for the child. A few quilts and a warm yarn blanket for the winter. Also, towels. Babies tend to throw up a bit. Also, never hold them without a diaper on, unless you’ve got a towel on your lap. You will get peed on otherwise,” says Hana.

“It’s tradition for the omega to knit a yarn blanket for their child,” says Natsuo, receiving a surprised look from Tobirama. “When you knit the blanket yourself, your scent ends up on it. It’s very soothing for newborns. And for the first few years of your child’s life, he’ll find it difficult to fall asleep without your scent near him.”

Tobirama thinks about it and decides that knitting a blanket for his kid wouldn’t be that bad. Some people even considered being able to make blankets and clothes a useful life skill. And he enjoyed creating things; though he was sure knitting was not going to be as fascinating as creating new jutsus.

“Alright, but I don’t actually know how to knit,” he says.

“We’ll teach you, then. It’s actually rather simple,” says Hana.

* * *

Madara and Izuna spend the week talking to the Elders and other clansmen; it is a week filled with endless talking. And Madara is fully convinced that he’s said more in that week alone than he has in his entire life. Still, it was worth it. They’ve managed to convince about eighty percent of the clan that it is time for peace with the Senju clan. Actually co-existing with their former enemies won’t be as easy, but at least they are willing to try.

The week after that, they spend arguing over what to put in their peace treaty with the Senju. If they are going to interact with the Senju, they need to set boundaries, like not killing each other. Then they need to come up with punishments for what happens when you break the terms of the treaty. Things like that.

The next two weeks seem to pass in slow motion as he restlessly waits for the day he gets to see his mate again. By now, Tobirama should have confirmation on whether he’s pregnant or not. He’s talked with one of his aunts about what to expect when raising a child; he doesn’t want to be completely unprepared. He wants to be a good parent, which will require peace with the Senju clan. In his opinion, sending your child out onto the battlefield is the exact opposite of being a good parent.

And hopefully, their two clans can work together to build his and Hashirama’s dream village. If they’re living in the same town, then Tobirama and he could live in the same house to raise their child together. And he’s still not sure what to name the kid. He and Tobirama can discuss baby names after they’ve worked out a peace treaty between their two clans.

Towards the end of the month, Madara is feeling restless and agitated. He barely refrains from snapping at everyone, feeling annoyed that his instincts are making him act this way. He hopes that things can be settled between the Senju clan as soon as possible. He wants to be able to live with his mate, if only so he doesn’t have to deal with this every month.

On the day of their meeting, Madara picks out something nice but casual to wear. He knows that it technically isn’t a date, but he wants to look nice for his omega. Izuna, of course, insists on coming with him. He reluctantly agrees, but makes his brother wait about a mile away from the meeting place so that he can have his reunion with Tobirama in private.

He waits in the clearing where he found Tobirama a month ago, sensing his mate approach about an hour later. He smiles when he sees that Tobirama has also dressed up a bit. When his mate sees him, Madara can see a look of fondness enter his omega’s eyes.

“Alpha,” says Tobirama, walking towards him.

“Omega,” replies Madara, pulling his mate into a possessive hug.

They stay like that for several minutes, just breathing in each other’s scent. “How did it go with your clan?” asks Madara.

“Better than I expected, actually. Hashirama and I managed to convince most of the clan to give peace a try. There are a few people who are still against the idea, but they’ll go along with what the majority of the clan decides. And I suppose they’ll be the first ones to say ‘I told you so’ if things don’t work out,” replies Tobirama.

Madara’s arms tighten around him. “Then we’ll just have to make sure nothing goes wrong,” says Madara. “Somehow, Izuna and I also managed to make our clan see sense. I was thinking we could spend a few days in the nearby town and discuss the details of the peace treaty. Izuna is waiting nearby, and I can sense Hashirama in the distance.”

“Alright, let’s call them over then,” says Tobirama. The two of them flare their chakra, alerting their brothers that it’s alright to meet up with them now.

Hashirama enters the clearing first, immediately locking eyes with Madara. There’s a cautious, hopeful look in his brother’s eyes. “Madara,” he says.

Madara stares at Hashirama for a moment before smiling. “It seems like our dream of a village might not be an impossibility after all, Hashirama.”

Hashirama grins back at him, happy that he’s finally getting the chance to renew his friendship with Madara. And since his brother was now technically considered married to Madara that made the Uchiha his brother-in-law. He was happy that the friend he considered a brother would now actually be his brother.

Izuna arrives then, gaze immediately drawn to Tobirama, the person he had fought several times throughout the years. Tobirama and Izuna stare at each for several minutes, remembering the injuries they’ve caused each other. Tobirama doesn’t even realize his scent has changed until he feels Madara’s hand on his neck, a soft purring sound coming from the older man’s throat. His muscles relax, and the scent of a threatened omega dissipates.

Omegas don’t give off aggressive scents, the way alphas do. Personally, Tobirama believes this to be to the omega’s advantage. Alphas will underestimate an omega giving off a threatened scent, letting their guard down enough for the omega to put a blade through the alpha’s ribcage when he least expects it.

Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Tobirama looks away from Madara and back to Izuna. To his surprise, the alpha doesn’t look mocking, just curious. He supposes it must be odd for someone you’ve known for years to suddenly have a different scent.

The four of them travel to the nearby town in silence, selecting a small tea shop as their first destination. Then they order something to drink, along with some Dango. It’s not until their drinks arrive that Hashirama begins speaking. His brother gives a brief description of the terms of the treaty their Clan Elders had agreed upon, and then Madara does the same.

The two of them go back and forth for a while, with Tobirama and Izuna occasionally stating their own thoughts on the matter, and eventually they manage to come up with a rough draft of the treaty. They’ll need to bring a copy to both clan’s Elders, who then will most likely want to make their own changes. And then the four of them will need to do this again, however many times it takes, compromising between what the two different clans want.

They don’t stay in the tea shop the entire time, of course, as the negotiations last for several hours. Hashirama and Izuna suggest heading back to the compound once the sun starts to set, but to both their surprise, Madara and Tobirama want to stay in the town for a few days. When Izuna protests, Madara informs him that he and Hashirama don’t _have_ to stay with them the entire time as they are fully capable of protecting themselves. Reluctantly the two of them agree, allowing Madara and Tobirama to spend a few days with their mate, without their brothers hovering over their shoulders.

It’s after dark, so the two of them get a room at the local inn, spending the next hour curled up together on the bed, talking about anything that comes to mind. They try to keep the conversation light-hearted, not wanting to talk about war and death. Instead, they want to spend their time learning everything they can about their mate.

Tobirama is the first one to wake up the next morning; and while Madara is still asleep, he goes out and gets them breakfast. He remembers how Madara caught them food while he was in heat and thinks that bringing your mate food is a nice gesture. He thinks Madara agrees, if the smile on his alpha’s face when he sees the food is any indication.

After breakfast, they wander around the village, enjoying each other’s company. There isn’t much to do in such a small town, but they both love nature walks so they have fun anyway. They end up wandering into the woods right outside the village and Tobirama suggests a sparring match between the two of them.

Feeling pleasantly surprised, Madara agrees. It seems like they both enjoy having a strong mate and use the sparring match to show off. They stick to taijutsu only, not wanting to actually cause their mate harm. He has fun, sparring against Tobirama. The other man is faster than him; without his sharingan on, he wouldn’t be able to keep up with Tobirama’s movements. Which makes him think that Izuna was wrong, Tobirama doesn’t need his teleportation jutsu to be faster than them.

However, Madara is definitely stronger than Tobirama. When he eventually manages to get a hold of his omega, he gets them both on the ground and the two of them spend the next few minutes wrestling on the forest floor. The fight ends with him pinning his omega to the ground and the both of them smiling at the other.

Tobirama strains against the hands pinning his arms above his head, letting out a soft purr when he can’t break free. Someday, he’s going to turn back into an alpha, if only to find out whether being turned on by Madara’s strength is a personal preference or a result of omega instinct.

Smelling his mate’s arousal, Madara leans forward, lightly pressing their lips together. Tobirama tries to deepen the kiss but Madara pulls back, not wanting things to get too heated in the middle of the woods. This time, he wants them to have sex on a bed instead of the dusty ground. Seeing his mate pouting, he presses a kiss against the corner of Tobirama’s mouth.

“How about we go back to the inn and have some fun?” suggests Madara.

“Sounds good,” replies Tobirama. “Race you there?”

The two of them rush off, looking like a blur to the civilians. Tobirama arrives a moment before Madara does; and together, the two of them head up to their room. Once there, Tobirama wants to get started immediately, but Madara suggests a shower first. “We don’t want to get dirt on the bed; we’re going to have to sleep there afterwards,” says Madara.

Madara grabs Tobirama’s arm, leading him into the bathroom. Tobirama starts to take off his own clothes, but Madara reaches out and begins to undress him. Once they’re both naked, they step into the shower, finding a temperature that’s comfortable for them both.

Taking a shower together is a different sort of intimacy than sex. They take turns massaging soap into the other person’s hair then running their hands down each other’s backs and up their stomach. Next, they ‘clean’ each other’s erections, stroking each other slowly. Tobirama lets out a soft moan when Madara teases his entrance with a soap slicked finger.

Deciding that they’re clean enough, they quickly rinse the soap off and spend the bare minimum amount of time drying off before getting into bed together. They start off by lying on their side, facing each other, legs entwined and their arms around each other.

Tobirama runs his fingers through Madara’s hair as their mouths meet in a kiss, tongues sliding together sensually. He hums in pleasure as fingers slide down from his neck to the base of his spine. He lets out a muffled moan as the fingers move lower, rubbing teasingly at his entrance.

Pulling away from their kiss, Madara then licks the outer shell of Tobirama’s ear before kissing his way down the omega’s neck. He flicks his tongue against the other man’s neck before sucking on the tender skin. While rubbing his finger around Tobirama’s entrance, he can feel that the Senju has started to produce slick. He knows that the omega will need more prep than last time, now that he’s not in heat.

He rolls them over so that Tobirama is lying underneath him, one hand on the omega’s hip and the other on his chest. He rubs his thumb over Tobirama’s nipple and leans down to suck on the other one, causing his mate let out a pleasured moan. Madara’s breath hitches as Tobirama’s hips jerk up, rubbing their cocks together and sending shocks of pleasure through him.

Tobirama’s fingers grasp at the bedsheets beneath him, panting slightly as the pleasure flows through him. His cock twitches every time Madara sucks on his nipple; slick starting to leak from him to soak the sheets underneath. His legs spread open, wanting Madara to fuck him.

Madara takes the hint, moving his attention farther south. He lifts Tobirama’s legs onto his shoulders; then he spreads his mate’s cheeks apart, giving him the perfect view of his mate’s entrance. He smirks at the sight of his omega’s embarrassed blush, before letting his tongue flick out to lick his mate’s opening. “What….are….you…doing?” pants Tobirama, wide eyed.

“Haven’t you ever heard of rimming?” asks Madara.

Tobirama starts to answer, but Madara’s tongue returns to his entrance, causing him to cry out. “Ah!” His hole clenches, slick leaking out, which Madara then licks up. He can barely keep his eyes open, the pleasure is so intense.

He lets out a whimper as the tip of Madara’s tongue pushes at his opening. It feels good, but he wants something bigger in him. Almost as if reading his mind, Madara slowly pushes a finger inside him, causing him to let out a relieved moan. With the tight grip Madara has on hips, he’s unable to thrust back against the finger inside him, forcing him to lie back as Madara opens him up slowly.

Madara’s cock twitches at the sight before him: his mate squirming around his fingers, letting out the most erotic noises he’s ever heard. Slowly, he adds a second then third finger, thoroughly stretching his mate. He takes his time opening his mate up, occasionally rubbing against Tobirama’s prostrate lightly. He smirks when he hears his mate let out a desperate, pleading whine. “Hmm, is there something you need?” he asks, pushing his fingers firmly against his mate’s prostrate.

“Nngg, _yes,_ ” moans Tobirama. “I need…you…. to _fuck me.”_

Madara bites down on his lip hard, arousal throbbing at his mate’s lust filled words. Quickly, he slides his fingers out before lining his cock up to his mate’s entrance. He forces himself to enter his mate slowly, enjoying the sound of his omega’s frustrated groan.

Tobirama reaches out, grabbing a handful of Madara’s hair to pull his head down for a desperate kiss. It’s a bit of an awkward position, with his legs over Madara’s shoulders, but he’s flexible enough to pull it off. He lets out a pleased purr as his mate begins to move inside him, pleasure shooting through him every time Madara brushes against his prostrate.

Madara is unable to keep up the slow pace for very long; the wet heat around his cock soon has him pounding into his mate. He reaches between then and wraps his fingers around Tobirama’s cock, stroking him firmly. Tobirama’s head tilts back, eyes falling closed as he lets out a breathless moan. He squirms as Madara’s thumb rubs against the sensitive head of his cock, letting out a purring moan every time his mate thrusts inside him.

Tobirama threads his fingers through Madara’s hair, pushing the other man’s head towards his neck. He tilts his head to the side, baring his throat to his mate. Taking the hint, Madara licks and nips at his omega’s neck before biting down hard enough to draw blood.

Tobirama claws at Madara’s back, pleasure overwhelming him as he lets out a wordless shout. His cock twitches, semen shooting out to land on his stomach, some even landing on his face. Madara lets out a pleased growl as his mate’s muscles clench around his arousal. He pants for breath, thrusting into his mate a few more times as the electrifying pleasure intensifies. His teeth bite down on his mate’s neck as he cums, semen shooting out of his cock to coat his omega’s inner walls. He feels his knot expand then, locking the two of them together.

He lowers Tobirama’s legs to the bed, then wraps his arms around Tobirama, pulling his mate up into his lap. He had noticed during Tobirama’s heat, that this was his omega’s favorite position while they were knotted together. Tobirama wraps his legs around Madara’s hips, resting his forehead against his alpha’s shoulder.

Idly, Tobirama brushes his fingers against the marks he scratched onto Madara’s back earlier. He breathes in deeply, finding the combination of their scents to be relaxing. He feels Madara’s fingers running through his hair and closes his eyes, beginning to fall asleep.

A while later, he feels himself being moved; he keeps his eyes closed as Madara’s knot slips from him and his mate moves them to a more comfortable position. Right before he slips into a deep sleep, he feels a hand run down his back and a kiss on his forehead.

Madara smiles at the sight of his mate so completely relaxed. Briefly, he gets up from the bed to get a wash cloth to clean them up with. After that’s taken care of, he wraps his arms around Tobirama and lets himself drift off into a deep sleep. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter, I gave the names of the Uchiha Elders, so here's the names of the Senju Elders:
> 
> Takeshi Senju: male alpha  
> Subaru Senju: male alpha  
> Hyousuke Senju: male alpha  
> Tatsuo Senju: male alpha  
> Toshiro Senju: male alpha  
> Takahiro Senju: male beta  
> Isao Senju: male beta  
> Hikari Senju: female alpha  
> Yuuki Senju: female alpha  
> Aiko Senju: female beta


	6. Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took longer to write than I was expecting, but I was having a bit of writers block for this story. But, I persisted and made myself write a little bit every day. I like this story and am hopeful that I'll be able to finish it.

Tobirama wakes up to the feeling of lips on his neck. Instead of tensing, he relaxes further into the bed as he recognizes his mate’s chakra and scent. He think it’s an addictive feeling, the complete sense of safety the bond gives him around Madara.

He opens his eyes as he feels a hand rubbing his stomach in circular motions. “I talked to my clan’s healer and she confirmed that I’m pregnant,” says Tobirama.

“Have you thought about what name to call our child?” asks Madara.

Tobirama shakes his head. “I haven’t had the time. I’ve been too busy talking to the clan, as well as learning what to expect during the pregnancy itself. But, now that we’re here together, we can brainstorm ideas.”

Madara thinks about all the different names he knows and suggests, “What about Amaya or Tsukiko if the child is a girl?”

Tobirama hums in thought. “I like it. And maybe Katsuo for a boy?”

“It works for now,” says Madara. “If we think of anything else, we can let the other know.”

Tobirama nods his head in agreement. “Okay, now we have to think about how we’re going to raise the child. My biggest concern is, are we going to allow the child to choose his own path in life? I didn’t have a choice in becoming a ninja, and I’d rather not force my child to kill people for a living.”

A contemplative look enters Madara’s eyes. “That hadn’t occurred to me, but you’re right. It wouldn’t be fair to force our children to be ninja. I, personally, couldn’t see myself as something else, but I was never given the option or time to think about what I wanted to be when I was a child. It was just expected that we would all learn how to fight and join the war.”

Tobirama smiles at his answer, relieved that they weren’t going to fight about this. “Good, though whether our children becomes a ninja or not, we’ll still need to teach them how to defend themselves. The world is not a peaceful place, and we won’t always be there to protect them,” says Tobirama.

“Agreed,” says Madara. “We can train them while they’re young; and when they’re old enough to have a career of their own, we can schedule weekly sparring sessions so their skills don’t get rusty.”

Tobirama agrees that it’s a good idea, before a conversation he had with one of his clansmen comes to mind. “Did you know it’s a Senju tradition for an omega to knit a blanket for their child? Does the Uchiha clan have traditions like that?” he asks.

“We do, actually. I imagine we have that tradition in common because it’s practical. Knitting the blanket yourself will make your scent cling to it. And when the scent is gone from the blanket, my clansmen will give their child a shirt that they’ve worn for a few hours to sleep next to,” says Madara.

Before Madara can say more, Tobirama’s stomach growls, reminding them both that they haven’t eaten breakfast yet. “Okay, then. How about you get a quick shower and then we’ll go get food?” says Madara.

Tobirama notices that Madara’s hair is still damp and concludes that the other man must have taken a shower while he was asleep. “Alright,” he agrees, getting up from the bed and heading for the bathroom. When he gets out of the shower, he finds Madara struggling to brush the tangles out of his long hair.

With an amused smile, Tobirama takes the brush from him and gently brushes his mate’s hair. Madara starts to let out a contented purr after a minute. “You’re good at this,” says Madara, surprised.

“I used to watch how my mother took care of her hair,” explains Tobirama. “When Hashirama started to grow his hair out and I realized he had no idea how to take care of it, I helped him.”

Tobirama sets the brush down on the bed; and moving Madara’s hair to the side, he leans down to kiss the back of his mate’s neck. After they’re both ready, they leave the inn and look for a restaurant they both like. Along the way, they walk close enough to each other for their arms to brush against each other. As they’re both very private people, standing that close together is the only affectionate gesture they’re comfortable with in public.

Over breakfast, they talk about some of the different traditions in their clans. Neither of their clans have very many holidays, as war doesn’t leave much time for celebrations. However, both of their clans do celebrate birthdays; every year that you manage to survive is an accomplishment.

He learns that while the Senju bury their dead, the Uchiha prefer cremation. This is probably because of their different elemental affinities. Most Uchiha have a fire affinity, with the occasional Uchiha having a lightning affinity. The Senju tend to be Earth natured, with the occasional water affinity. Tobirama is unique in that while his primary affinity is water; his secondary is lightning. It’s almost unheard of for someone in his clan to have a lightning affinity.

After breakfast, they meander around the village, trying to find something to do. They find a small bookstore and look around, finding a couple of interesting things to buy. They talk about the things they’d be able to do in a larger city, basically planning out future dates.

Madara has been to a play once; Tobirama hasn’t, but might be interested in going to one if it’s about something interesting. They’ve both been to an orchestra and would be interested in going to another one. Tobirama enjoyed hearing the piano while Madara admits to liking the sounds of the violin.

Tobirama learns that Madara would be interested in traveling to other countries, and to perhaps see the ruins of cities that haven’t been lived in for hundreds of years. His mate apparently likes to learn about how people used to live a long time ago: the tools they used, their traditions and holidays, everything.

After the bookstore, they find a crafts shop and Tobirama asks Madara’s help in picking out a yarn to use for the baby blanket. Together, they pick out a soft, navy blue yarn and a pair of knitting needles for him to use. He saw a few calligraphy brushes and Madara mentioned that he had brought his calligraphy set with him.

Tobirama imagined Madara’s slender fingers wrapped around a calligraphy brush, painting elegant lines. “I think I’d like to see that,” he admits.

Although surprised, Madara agrees. They head back to the inn, and Madara gets out his calligraphy supplies, placing them on the table in their room. He watches, silently, as Madara begins to use the calligraphy brush, impressed by the other man’s skill. Madara shows off calligraphy skills in all three of the Japanese alphabets: hiragana, kanji, and katakana.

His own family had not found calligraphy to be that important. As long as their handwriting was legible, that was all that mattered. His own handwriting is decent enough, while Hashirama’s will start to look like scribbles if he tries to write too quickly.

He stares at the paper, surprised, as Madara begins to write in romaji. Most countries in the Elemental Nations spoke and wrote in Japanese, with few exceptions. Romaji had been invented to help those who spoke a different language learn Japanese. With romaji, you wrote the words how they were pronounced, allowing beginners to see how the words were to be spoken. It was uncommon to see someone who learned Japanese first using romaji.

Madara smiles at his reaction. “They have their own type of calligraphy,” he explains. “I found a book about the English language and their own version of calligraphy when I was sixteen years old. Each different style was called a font, and it was fascinating to see just many there was.”

Tobirama finds it amazing how much your life can change in such a short amount of time. A month ago, he never would have imagined that Madara, or any Uchiha, could create something like this. Some of the ‘fonts’ that Madara was writing in looked like works of art.

“Do you want to try?” asks Madara, holding up one of the calligraphy brushes.

Tobirama glances from the brush to what Madara has written and nods his head. He accepts the brush from Madara, sits down at the table, and grabs a blank piece of paper. He picks one of the fonts that Madara has written and tries to imitate it, with Madara giving him advice.

It doesn’t turn out exactly like Madara’s, he’ll need more practice for that, but he did have fun trying. Eventually, they get bored and move on to something else. While he sits on the bed and attempts to make a baby blanket, Madara talks to him about the different legends and hero stories other countries have.

It’s interesting to examine the differences and similarities between the different countries’ legends. It gives you insight into their culture and the way they think, what their morals are. Eventually, their conversation changes to something more personal for both of them: the village that Hashirama and Madara want to create.

They start discussing the different aspects of the village and are unsurprised that they don’t agree on everything. Tobirama’s idea to let civilian children into the ninja Academy is met with skepticism from Madara.

“Civilian children are always weaker than ninja children,” argues Madara.

“Only because they’re untrained. If they learn how to control their chakra and fight at an early enough age, they have the potential to become just as strong as the children born from ninja,” says Tobirama. “I was thinking that the Academy could teach the basics, with one teacher for ten to twenty students. Then when they were older, we could split them into teams of three with a stronger teacher who could show them more advanced techniques.”

“Maybe,” says Madara. “There will need to be standards for passing the Academy. If they can’t learn the basics, it would be a waste of time to give them a more advanced teacher.”

Tobirama nods his head. “Agreed. Now we just need to figure out what age they should graduate the Academy. Hashirama told me that he wanted to found this village so that children don’t have to die pointless deaths. If we make the graduating age too low, then nothing will have really changed.”

Madara thinks about it for a moment. “I was able to kill grown men at the age of 12. If they haven’t mastered the basics by then, I don’t think they’re suited to the ninja way of life.”

“It seems like an odd thought, not going on missions until they’re 12. Everyone in my family started fighting as soon as they could, usually around age 7. But then, a lot of them died at that age as well. They can take the graduation exam at 12 and then their teacher after that can help decide when they’re ready to take missions outside of the village,” says Tobirama.

“Speaking of the missions, we’ll need some way of ranking them by difficulty and a ranking system for the ninjas themselves,” says Madara. “This way we could give the ninjas a mission they’re well suited to.”

“We could use letters to rank the missions,” suggests Tobirama. “D-rank being the lowest, then C, B, A, and S being the highest.”

“Why an S?” asks Madara, puzzled.

Tobirama smirks. “S because it would be a suicide mission for a weaker ninja. Only the strongest shinobi can complete these missions,” says Tobirama, getting a laugh from Madara.

“And the ninja ranking system could be Genin, Chunin, and Jounin,” says Madara.

“Sounds good. Now we need to figure out which mission will get which rank and how much each mission should cost,” says Tobirama.

“The D-rank missions should be for those fresh out of the Academy and thus should have minimal risk,” says Madara. “Perhaps delivering objects of little monetary value. Things that a bandit might try to steal but not a fellow ninja,” says Madara.

Tobirama nods and adds, “Also, missions around the village. The civilians could hire low ranked ninja to help them with various things. These missions wouldn’t be all that exciting and will probably end up looking like chores, but it’ll give them a chance to earn an income.”

“Because the real missions will be given to the stronger ninja,” guesses Madara. “If we didn’t have the chore missions, then there wouldn’t be as many opportunities for the weaker ninja to earn money.”

“Yes, and it will also give the civilians a chance to interact with the ninja in a non-hostile setting. If the only time they see a ninja is when they’re killing people, even those who are threating their lives, then they will be afraid of them. We can’t co-exist peacefully if the civilians are terrified of their shinobi neighbors,” says Tobirama.

“Next are the C-rank missions, for the Chunin. These missions will have a higher chance of combat and risk. Perhaps guard duty; have them protect civilians as they travel and border patrol, to make sure no enemies are making their way towards the village,” says Madara.

“We’ll need a way of long distance communication for that. They need to be able to send a message to the village before they engage the enemy, in case they’re killed,” says Tobirama.

“I’ve seen birds used to deliver letters before. We could have a few ninjas trained on how to work with the birds; and it’ll be their job to send and receive the letters,” suggests Madara.

“I suppose that could work, at least for the ninja who don’t have a summons animals to deliver messages for them. Now, the B-rank and A-rank missions will mostly be for the Jounin, though some of the stronger Chunin might be able to handle a B-rank mission depending on what it is,” says Tobirama. He gets out a few pieces of paper and starts writing down some of what they’ve talked about, not wanting to forget anything.

“Someone will need to be in charge of categorizing and assigning missions. A percentage of the money from the mission will go the village’s treasury, so we’ll need someone we can trust to manage the village’s finances,” says Madara.

“And the village will need a leader. He or she will have to be someone strong, that the ninja of the village respect. If they don’t respect the leader, we might end up with a mutiny at some point,” says Tobirama.

“So it has to be someone the ninja respect and the civilians aren’t completely afraid of. So, it’ll probably end up being Hashirama,” says Madara. “He’s currently the strongest ninja in Fire Country and he makes friends easily.”

“Will the Uchiha clan react negatively to having a Senju lead the village?” asks Tobirama.

“Maybe,” says Madara, contemplatively. “I suppose it depends on how well our clans are getting along by the time the village is far enough along to need a leader. If they did have a problem with it, what would you suggest?”

“We could have a joint leadership between you and Hashirama. As you both came up with the idea of a village, it would make sense for you both to lead it,” says Tobirama.

Madara seems surprised by this idea, looking to the side thoughtfully. “That would pacify the clans, but would the village even want me as a leader? I’m not as friendly as Hashirama. And if we disagree on something, we would need someone who could be a tie breaker.”

Tobirama puzzles over Madara’s words, wondering where that insecurity had come from. Had someone from the Uchiha clan said something to imply he wasn’t a good leader? “Being a good leader isn’t about being friendly. Hashirama may end up being better at diplomacy, but you have a more practical mind set than he does. I think the village will thrive better if you’re both in charge. Also, the two of you could have advisors, perhaps three of them, who could act as tie breakers when you can’t agree on a decision,” says Tobirama.

“Perhaps you and Izuna as advisors,” says Madara, “and someone from outside the clan could be the third advisor. That is, after we know enough people to choose someone from outside the clan.”

“Another thing to think about. Which clans to invite to join the village,” muses Tobirama. “Perhaps the Nara clan, as they’re known for their intelligence. We could even have one of them as an advisor. And where the Nara clan goes, the Yamanaka and Akimichi clans follow.”

Madara nods his agreement. “The Inuzuka clan might also be a good choice. They’re known for their loyalty and are fierce fighters when their comrades are threatened. And perhaps the Hatake clan. Their clan isn’t as large as the Inuzuka’s, but they have the same sort of pack loyalty.”

“What about the Hyuuga clan?” suggests Tobirama, getting a grimace in return from Madara.

The Hyuuga and Uchiha clans weren’t mortal enemies the way the Senju and Uchiha clan were, but they didn’t get along either. Both clans took great pride in their clan’s doujutsu and believed it to be superior to the other clan’s doujutsu. It was an ongoing argument between the two clans. Out of the clans they’ve just talked about, Tobirama thinks they’ll be the most difficult to convince to join a village that contains Uchiha.

“Maybe,” says Madara reluctantly. “They are decent fighters, though they’re more arrogant than anyone I’ve ever met.”

Tobirama would make a comment about how prideful the Uchiha clan is, but he’s met the Hyuuga and some of them are worse than the Uchihas. Instead he thinks about all the other clans he knows live in Fire Country. “What about the Aburame clan? They’re not very powerful yet, but I think they have potential.”

“They’re the ones that can control the chakra draining insects, right?” asks Madara, getting a nod from Tobirama. “That could be useful. Do they also have poisonous insects?”

“I think so. Which means, it would be best to get them on our side. Most people don’t think much about an insect landing on them, but if it was poisonous….” says Tobirama.

“Then it could kill them. The Aburame wouldn’t even need to show himself to his opponent to win. I agree, we should invite them to join the village,” says Madara.

Madara thinks about mentioning the Hagoromo clan but realizes it wouldn’t work. The Hagoromo clan may have once been allied to the Uchiha clan, but they were definitely enemies of the Senju clan. It was difficult enough getting the Senju and Uchiha clans to become allies. Besides, the Hagoromo clan wasn’t that powerful compared to some of the other clans they had just been talking about.

Tobirama finishes writing down everything they’ve just said then puts the paper to one side. “I think that’s enough planning for now. We don’t know when we’ll next see each other and it’d be a waste to spend the whole day just talking about the village,” says Tobirama.

“Alright,” agrees Madara. “Is there anything in particular you’d like to talk about?”

“Well, we could talk about our lives, what we do on a daily basis,” says Tobirama. “For instance, I spend a few days a week helping the younger clansmen train. I think I enjoy teaching and I might decide to train a team of genin after the village has been built.”

“I’ve tried teaching before,” says Madara, a slight grimace on his face. “It didn’t work out very well. I just don’t seem to have the patience for it. Izuna seems to like it though. I spend a lot of time training and reading different books. When clients contact the clan directly, I’ll choose who goes on the mission. And if there haven’t been any clients recently, I’ll choose a team to go out and look for clients.”

“I help Hashirama with the paperwork and with staying organized. His filing system would be a mess without my help,” says Tobirama, a slightly fond but exasperated look in his eyes. “I’ll go on missions sometimes, if it’s a mission where my skillset wouldn’t be considered overkill.”

Madara laughs at that. “Yeah, Izuna and I haven’t gone on simple delivery missions since we were kids. Now a days, the missions we take tend to be assassination or guarding nobles from enemy nin.”

“And when not on missions or training, I do research. Jutsu creation and science,” says Tobirama. “I’ll take a walk in the woods sometimes as I find it relaxing.”

“So do I,” says Madara. “Especially in the fall, when the weather isn’t trying to roast me or turn me into a Popsicle. Sometimes I find calligraphy to be relaxing as well. What would you say your favorite weather is?”

“A thunderstorm,” answers Tobirama immediately. He doesn’t need to think about it; he’s always liked the rain and the way the lightning flashed across the sky. “I like the sound of the rain hitting the rooftops. It’s a nice sound to fall asleep to.”

“I don’t mind the rain if I’m inside,” says Madara, “but I don’t like getting rained on. It’s cold.”

“Not a fan of cold weather then? Is that a personal preference or do you think it’s a result of having fire nature chakra?” asks Tobirama.

“It might be the result of my chakra affinity, as a lot of my clansmen don’t like the cold either,” says Madara. “How do you feel about the cold?”

“Well, I’m not that fond of how cold snow is, though I do like the way it looks. Autumn weather is fine, though. And I don’t mind getting rained on,” says Tobirama.

“Favorite color?”

“Blue, green, and white. Are we playing twenty questions?” asks Tobirama, amused.

“Why not? We don’t know much about each other yet. And my favorite colors are red and black. Do you prefer sweet or sour foods?”

“Sweet foods over sour, but sometimes I like spicy foods. And you’ve already told me that you have a sweet tooth.”

“Yes, though I have to limit how much dessert I eat or I’d gain a few too many pounds. You mentioned that you like fruit, what’s your favorite?” asks Madara.

“Pluots, I guess. They’re sweet on the inside with a sour peel. What about you?”

“Apricots. If you could choose any scent for your soap, what would it be?”

Tobirama pauses, taken off guard by that question. He has to think about it for a moment. “Hmm. I’ve smelled an almond scented soap before and thought it was nice. I can’t see myself wanting a soap that smells sweet or flowery, so I guess I’d choose almond or maybe vanilla.”

“Personally, I tend to favor a peppermint scent,” says Madara, “but vanilla would be good as well.” Madara scoots closer to Tobirama on the bed, placing his nose against Tobirama’s neck. “Though your scent is even more appealing now.”

Tobirama shivers, tilting his neck to the side. “That’s a result of the bond,” he explains. “Our scents became more appealing to each other after we bonded.” He wraps his arm around Madara’s back, pulling the Uchiha closer to him. He inhales deeply, breathing in the scent of his alpha. It’s soothing, to have his mate this close.

It’s a bit odd, to be so comfortable around a former enemy. Just a few months ago, they would have been at each other’s throats. But now, they can sit here and talk about their lives and be open about what they feel. They don’t have to worry about the other making fun of them because their instincts won’t allow them to purposely hurt their mate. It’s still possible for them to accidently say something hurtful and they’re bound to disagree at some point; but the knowledge that their mate wasn’t trying to hurt them will make it easier for them to make up after a fight.

Tobirama’s breath hitches as he feels Madara’s tongue on his neck, his fingers gripping the back of Madara’s shirt. His other hand slides under Madara’s shirt, running his fingers up and down the Uchiha’s back. He lets out a hum of pleasure as Madara begins to suck on his neck, feeling teeth scrape across his neck a moment later.

Wanting to bring Madara pleasure as well, his hands travel from Madara’s back to his front, rubbing calloused fingertips across Madara’s nipples. Madara leans into Tobirama’s hands, letting out a soft moan as his sensitive nipples are played with. Then he has to lean back for a moment so Tobirama can slide his shirt over his head, the omega then taking off his own shirt.

Madara slides onto Tobirama’s lap, amused by the startled expression that appears on his omega’s face. Tobirama grips Madara’s hip with his left hand while his right comes up to play with Madara’s hair. His fingers gently brush against Madara’s scalp, the alpha letting out a soft purr like noise. Madara softly presses his lips against Tobirama’s, giving his omega a teasingly feather light kiss.

Tobirama huffs out a slightly amused breath before pressing his lips more firmly against Madara’s. He feels Madara open his mouth and slides his tongue past the Uchiha’s lips. Their tongues glide against each other sensually, sending shivers down their spines.

Tobirama’s back arches as he feels Madara fingers grip his nipples, pinching the hardened buds to an almost painful degree. He lets out a muffled moan as Madara grounds down against his erection, his hips twitching up. His cock throbs as Madara’s fingers tighten around his nipples, whimpering softly at the combination of pleasure and pain.

Madara reluctantly gets off Tobirama’s lap so that he can remove his pants, unsealing a bottle of lube from the garment before throwing it to the floor. Tobirama sees what Madara is doing and tilts his hips up so that he can slide his own pants down his legs, dropping it off the side of the bed. He’s surprised when Madara climbs back into his lap after they’re both naked. Does Madara intend to be the one being penetrated this time?

Madara opens the bottle and pours the lube on his fingers, then reaches back to slide his index and middle fingers inside himself. It feels a bit uncomfortable at first; he doesn’t masturbate this way very often and he’s never had someone else inside him. But, he wants to give it a try with his new mate. Tobirama seems to enjoy being penetrated and he doesn’t see why he wouldn’t as well.

Deciding that he’s stretched enough, Madara slides his fingers out. He pours some of the lube onto his hand then strokes Tobirama’s erection a few times to coat it in the slick substance. Tobirama grips Madara’s hips, feeling surprised by this turn of events. He’d always considered himself unusual in that he would be willing to bottom even though he was born as an alpha. From the conversations he’s overheard, a lot of alphas wouldn’t even consider letting themselves be penetrated.

Madara holds Tobirama’s cock in place and slowly sinks down on it, keeping his muscles as relaxed as he can to avoid pain. He sits there for a few minutes, with Tobirama fully sheathed inside him, letting himself adjust to the feeling of being filled. He places his hands on Tobirama’s shoulders then lifts his hips up until only the tip of the other man’s cock is inside him. He slams his hips down, impaling himself on Tobirama’s length, both of them letting out choked breaths.

Tobirama searches Madara’s face, looking for any signs of pain but sees only pleasure. Madara sees the concern in his mate’s eyes and smiles, briefly pressing their lips together before he begins to move, setting a fast and rough pace. He can’t stop the pleasured moans that fall from his lips every time he slams his hips down, shocks of pleasure shooting through him every time his prostate is hit.

Tobirama puts his hands on the bed, leaning his weight on them so he could thrusts his hips up. His arousal is aching, begging for release; having Madara’s muscles clenching around him feels torturously good. Sweat slides down their flushed skin, breathes coming in pants as they get closer to cumming. He reaches down between them to stroke Madara’s cock, his mate letting out a soft whimper at the dual stimulation.

Leaning forward, he licks and nips at the sensitive skin of Madara’s neck, his teeth sinking in as Madara tightens around him. Madara thrusts down one last time, letting out a sharp gasp as pleasure overwhelms his senses, semen shooting out of his cock to land on both of their stomachs. He leans against his mate, trying to catch his breath, realizing after a minute that his omega is still hard inside him.

Tobirama squirms as Madara stops moving, barely stopping the pleading whine from escaping his throat. Madara can tell that Tobirama is close to the edge and brings his mouth to his omega’s neck, biting down hard enough to draw blood. Tobirama cries out, his hips snapping up as the combination of pleasure and pain sends him over the edge.

Madara gets up from Tobirama’s lap, grimacing a bit as he feels the other man’s cum slide down his thighs. It feels a bit weird. He goes into the bathroom and cleans himself up, bringing the wash cloth with him when he goes back into the bedroom. He gently rubs the cloth over Tobirama’s groin, seeing an amused look in his omega’s eyes as he cleans him up.

When Tobirama shifts on the bed to get into a more comfortable position, Madara notices a wet spot where Tobirama had been sitting. “Huh,” he says, surprised. Tobirama sees where he’s looking and lets out a small huff of laughter. It seems like omegas produce slick even when they’re not the ones being penetrated.

Madara drops the wash cloth off the side of the bed, they can pick up stuff later, and lays down next to his mate. He lies down on his back and pulls Tobirama closer, until the omega is practically lying down on top of him. They may not be stuck together by his knot this time, but he thinks it’s good for the relationship for couples to lie down together after sex.

Madara runs his fingers through Tobirama’s hair, thinking about the future. It’s good that their clans are willing to stop fighting; it’ll make it easier for him to visit his mate. But he doesn’t want just visitation rights. Creating the village will allow Tobirama and him to live together while also being near their family.

He glances at the window and sees that sometime while they were talking, the sun went down. Tomorrow, they’ll have to go their separate ways, back to their clans. But for now, he listens to the sound of Tobirama breathing and lets himself relax into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I mentioned the Japanese alphabet in this story, which is a subject I don't know much about. But the Naruto verse isn't a complete replica of Japan, so it doesn't have to be perfect. Also, I made it so that there are some English speaking people in this world because I like the way calligraphy looks in the English language.
> 
> What did you guys think of the baby names mentioned: Amaya, Tsukiko, and Katsuo? 
> 
> Also, what is your opinion of the sex scenes? Am I any good at writing it? Should I write less sex and focus more on plot?


	7. Chapter Seven

Tobirama gazes into the mirror hanging on the bathroom door, trying to see if he looks any different yet. It’s week six of his pregnancy and his stomach has started to look softer, less muscular. His hand comes up to his chest, frowning at the slight aching feeling. It’s weird to think that in about seven months, he’ll be breast feeding an infant.

He slides his shirt back on and makes his way to the living room, finding Hashirama sitting on the couch. “What are you writing?” he asks curiously, seeing pen and paper in his brother’s hands.

Hashirama looks up, surprised, and smiles at Tobirama. “I’m writing a letter to Madara. I had an idea on how to get our clans to get along better.”

Tobirama raises his eyebrow in silent enquiry. “I was thinking of setting up play dates between the children of our clans. This way, the next generation can get to know each other in a nonviolent setting,” says Hashirama.

“Play dates,” repeats Tobirama, bemused. “Assuming that you can get the parents to agree to this, where would they meet?”

“The town where we met up with Madara and Izuna had a park,” suggests Hashirama.

“A more interesting park than the one we have in the compound. Well, the parents might not like it, but the kids should be thrilled to get a chance to play with the swings and slides. Things that civilian children are allowed to play with,” says Tobirama, trying not to sound bitter.

It’s not that they weren’t allowed to play at all during their childhood, but it wasn’t encouraged all that much either. And their parents preferred them to play games that could act as training exercises. Hide ‘n seek was stealth training, tag was used to increase their speed, and dodgeball helped their reflexes. And of course, the games would have been a lot more fun if they weren’t criticized for not meeting expectations.

“Yes,” says Hashirama awkwardly, memories of their childhood flashing through his mind. “Well, I am hopeful that the next generation will not be treated as if their only worth is in how well they can kill the enemy.”

“Yeah. So how many children from each clan were you thinking of? I think small groups would be better to start off with,” says Tobirama.

“Maybe four children from each clan?” asks Hashirama.

“Only if we keep the Uchiha and Senju adults on either side of the park,” says Tobirama, flatly. “If each kid brings two parents or guardians with them, we’ll have sixteen parents there. It’s enough for a small battle.”

“Keeping them separated is fine, as long as the children are allowed to interact,” says Hashirama. “You and I will need to be there as well, to monitor the situation. Perhaps Madara and Izuna can come, if they’re not busy at the time.”

“I think the Uchiha would probably refuse to come if Madara or Izuna wasn’t there but we were. They wouldn’t want to be so outmatched in case a fight breaks out.”

Hashirama sighs, knowing his brother is right. “Hopefully, there won’t be any fighting. I don’t want the children seeing that. But all of this is dependent on the parents and Madara agreeing to it. Do you think he will?”

Tobirama shrugs, “I don’t see why he wouldn’t, unless he thinks it’s not safe? Madara is committed to the idea of peace between our clans. He has to be, if he wants to be in his kid’s life full time instead of just a visitor.”

Hashirama looks at Tobirama, a curious look in his eyes. “You’re okay with all this, then? Being an omega and pregnant, I mean,” asks Hashirama.

Tobirama rubs the back of his head, thinking about his answer. “I suppose I am, for the most part. There isn’t actually that much difference between omegas and alphas, on the outside anyway. You probably don’t want to know any details, but the physical differences don’t really upset me; they’re just a bit odd at first.”

The differences being not having a knot anymore and the fact that he now creates _lubricant_. A very weird feeling but useful during sex. The most disconcerting thing about this change had been going into heat, but he wouldn’t have to worry about that for a while.

“Also,” continues Tobirama, “I’m not far enough along in the pregnancy for any of it to be that noticeable. It might bother me later on, when I can barely move around the house because my stomach has gotten so big. But then, I’m sure that bothers the people who were born as omegas as well.”

Hashirama’s worried expression lessens a bit. “You’re sure? Changing genders seems like kind of a big deal.”

“Second gender,” says Tobirama, dismissively. “I’m still a guy, just a different version of one. You know I don’t think omegas are inherently weaker than alphas, unlike some other idiots I won’t name. The only reason so many omegas act docile is because that’s the way they were raised, the same way that alphas act more aggressive because that’s the way society expects them to act.”

Hashirama wasn’t sure how to reply to that. It seems like his brother truly wasn’t affected by this change. He knows most people would be at least a little unsettled by the changes, but Tobirama really didn’t seem to care. He found it interesting the way Tobirama didn’t conform to society’s expectations.

Hashirama finishes his letter to Madara and heads outside to put it in the mailbox, Tobirama following along behind him. There’s a company in Fire Country that delivers to and from the ninja clans. The people who worked for the company are low-level ninjas, able to use chakra to increase their running speed.

The mailing company has a peace treaty with all of the ninja clans that they did business with. No matter who the letter was from, the delivery person was not to be attacked. And the clans had to agree not to send booby trapped packages using their company.

The mailbox was located right outside the compound’s gate, and a courier ninja came by every few days to collect and deliver the mail. Making sure the address was correct, Hashirama placed his letter into the mailbox.

“We’re going to need a faster system after we get that village of yours built,” says Tobirama.

“What do you mean?” asks Hashirama.

“For the border patrol, they’ll need a way to contact the village if they detect an enemy, just in case they’re unable to win,” replies Tobirama. “If they’re killed, the village will need warning that an enemy is approaching.”

Hashirama frowns, displeased by the idea of one of their own dying. “What did you have in mind?”

“It’s something that Madara and I discussed. We could train falcons to carry letters for us. There can be a building in the village that the birds are trained to return to if pointed in that direction. As well as buildings on our borders that the birds can fly to from the village. This will allow us to communicate with the border patrol,” says Tobirama.

“That does sound like a good idea,” agrees Hashirama. He pauses then asks curiously, “You talked about the village with Madara?”

“Mmhmm, we talked about a lot of things,” says Tobirama, not elaborating. Besides the village, everything else he talked to Madara about was private. If Madara wanted Hashirama to know things about himself, then he would tell him directly.

Understanding that his brother doesn’t want to talk about Madara, Hashirama changes the subject. “I’ll wait to talk to the families until Madara agrees, but I was thinking the first group of children could be mostly betas. They don’t have the same territorial instincts that alphas and omegas have.”

“They’ll be less unsettled by going to a new place, you mean?” asks Tobirama.

Hashirama nods his head in the affirmative. Alphas and omegas, even young ones, become attached to their house and surrounding area. For the Senjus, their territory is the clan compound. As much as Tobirama tries to ignore his more inconvenient instincts, even he sometimes feels uncomfortable leaving the compound.

“That might be best. Perhaps the second group could contain one of the children from the first group? That child would be more familiar with the park and it would reassure the other children if one of their peers could show them around,” suggests Tobirama.

“And the parent of that child would be calmer, having seen the Uchiha and Senju children playing together peacefully. In fact, seeing the children getting along could do more to convince the adults that peace is a real possibility than our speeches ever could,” says Hashirama.

Tobirama nods his head in agreement and the two of them head back to the house to discuss ways to convince the parents to go along with their ‘play date’ idea.

 

* * *

Madara hears a knock on the front door but Izuna gets there first. “Good morning, Daichi. What can we do for you?” says Izuna cheerfully.

“A letter arrived today for Madara,” replies Daichi, giving Izuna the letter.

“Oh? I wonder who it’s from,” says Izuna, passing the letter from Daichi to Madara. “Thanks for bringing it to us.” Daichi nods his head, walking away as Izuna closes the door.

Taking a seat on the couch, Madara opens up the letter. “It’s from Hashirama,” he says, eyebrows raising in surprise.

“Huh. I would have thought that if any of the Senju would be sending you letters, then it’d be Tobirama,” says Izuna.

Madara hums noncommittedly, eyes quickly scanning over the letter. “Interesting. It seems that Hashirama has a new idea for promoting peace between the clans,” he says, giving Izuna the letter to read.

“Play dates?” asks Izuna incredulously. He sees the contemplative look on his brother’s face. “Are you actually considering this?”

Madara shrugs. “People need evidence to change their minds; empty words can only go so far. With this, we could prove that it’s possible for Uchiha and Senjus to coexist peacefully.”

“Yeah, alright,” agrees Izuna reluctantly. “Do you want me to talk to the parents?”

Out of the two of them, Izuna was more charismatic. Madara was more likely to start yelling if he thought someone was being unnecessarily stubborn.

Madara thinks about it. “Perhaps we should go together? I should probably learn how to convince people without intimidating them.”

“Oh? I thought you liked scaring people? Why the sudden change?” asks Izuna.

“Something Tobirama said made me start thinking about what it means to be a good leader. People like those who are charming, like Hashirama. But Tobirama said it wasn’t friendliness that makes a good leader, it’s respect,” says Madara.

“Respect goes both ways,” muses Izuna. “If you show the people you respect them, then they’ll respect you.”

“Yes, that’s what I was thinking. I need to show them that I respect their opinion, even when I think they’re wrong,” says Madara.

“And yelling is counterproductive to that,” says Izuna, amused. “Alright, so we’re going to have a calm discussion with them about letting their children near former enemies. Shouldn’t be too hard.”

Madara rolls his eyes at his brother’s sarcastic tone. “Hashirama suggested starting with beta children and I agree with his reasoning. If you’re not busy now, we can go talk to the parents. The sooner we get them to agree, the better.”

“You act like you’ve got a deadline,” says Izuna.

“Don’t I? My child is going to be born in about seven months. The sooner the clans get along, the sooner we can build the village, which is a place that will allow me to live with Tobirama and be near the clan. I’d rather not have to choose between the two, nor ask Tobirama to make such a choice, but my instincts won’t tolerate me living away from my mate and child any longer than necessary.”

“But there are alphas who don’t live with their kids,” says Izuna, confused. “Though they do visit once a month.”

“The monthly visit will satisfy the bare minimum that your instincts demand, but those alphas get agitated if their visit is even a day late. It’s not healthy. The only time alphas willingly agree to once a month meetings is if the child was a result of the omega going into heat and having sex with an alpha they don’t like. The alpha only stays away so often to respect the wishes of the omega, not because it’s comfortable for their instincts,” explains Madara.

Izuna looks concerned. “Then it’s difficult for you, to be away from him right now?”

“Yes, and it’s worse right now because he’s pregnant. Alphas aren’t supposed to be away from their mate when they’re expecting. I feel like I need to be there, protecting him. And omegas don’t like being away from their alphas when they’re pregnant either.”

“What does it feel like for the omega when their alpha isn’t around?” asks Izuna.

It wasn’t surprising that Izuna doesn’t know; this kind of thing isn’t talked about much. Madara only knows so much because he asked a mated pair in his clan what it was like.

“Since he’s with his clan, his brother in particular, he won’t feel unsafe like he would if he was living alone. But, a pregnant omega who goes more than a month without seeing their alpha will start to feel abandoned,” says Madara.

“Abandoned?” asks Izuna, shifting from one foot to the other restlessly. “That explains why you’ve set up monthly meetings with him. Though with how stoic the Senju acts, it’s hard to imagine him getting emotional, besides anger anyway.”

“Pregnancy hormones can make anyone emotional. And I hope the two of you can learn to get along eventually. You’re going to be an uncle, you know,” replies Madara.

Izuna looks startled. “I hadn’t thought of it like that. I’m going to be an uncle. What do uncles do?”

“They watch the children for a few hours when the parents are exhausted and need a nap,” says Madara, dryly.

Izuna laughs, “And if the parents are lucky, the uncle doesn’t stuff them full of sugar before sending them back?”

“Only if you want the same thing to happen to you when you have children,” replies Madara.

The two of them banter back and forth on the way to their destination. The meeting with the parents, predictably, does not go as well as they’d like.

“It won’t be as dangerous as you’re thinking,” argues Izuna, sitting across from the parents of one of the clan’s beta children. “Madara and I will be there. Most likely, the Uchiha parents and Senju parents will stay on opposite sides of the park.”

“And you think the Senju children will pose no danger to our child?” asks the mother, skeptically.

“Most children don’t actually enjoy killing,” says Madara, expression blank. “It’s the adults that turn them into killers.”

Izuna sighs, remembering how much more light hearted his brother used to be, before all the bloodshed had gotten to him. “I think the children will get along just fine,” says Izuna, patiently. “And none of the parents will be expected to interact with each other in this first meeting. In fact, we’d prefer it if you didn’t.”

“Think of it this way,” says Izuna, tone suddenly more cheerful, “It’ll be like taking your child on a picnic.”

“A picnic?” asks the father, baffled.

“Yes,” replies Izuna, firmly. “A picnic. How often do you get the opportunity to take your child somewhere fun? To let them be kids? They’re not adults yet, they should be allowed to act like a child every once in a while.”

Judging by the look on the parents’ faces, this was a new concept to them. No doubt, the previous Clan Head, Madara and Izuna’s father, had encouraged everyone to see their children as miniature adults. If they actually thought of their kids as kids, their instincts wouldn’t have let them send their children onto the battlefield.

Izuna thinks the father may be coming to the same conclusion, as the older man has a sad, thoughtful look on his face.

“Alright,” says the father after a long pause.

“Is this going to actually be a picnic?” asks the mother. “Will someone be in charge of bringing food?”

“Well, I was thinking it could be like a pot luck dinner, everyone brings a different dish,” replies Izuna.

“Hmm, alright. Let us know when you convince the other parents so I can talk to them about who’s bringing what,” says the mother.

“Will do,” agrees Izuna. He thanks the two of them for cooperating then leaves with Madara to go to the next house.

It takes them a few days but they do manage to convince all the parents to agree to the meeting. Madara writes a letter to Hashirama to inform him of the good news and to ask when they should meet. He also mentions Izuna’s picnic idea.

 

 

* * *

 

It was a tense first meeting, with the Uchiha and Senju awkwardly staring at each other from across the park. The children, ages 5 to 7, were standing next to their parents, looking around the park curiously. They had never left the compound before and were nervous, yet excited, to be in a new place.

Madara, Izuna, Tobirama, and Hashirama separate from the others and meet in the middle of the park. Hashirama grins brightly, happy to be able to see his friend again in a nonviolent setting.

“So now what?” asks Izuna.

“Now we have to get the children away from their parents and encourage them to have fun in the park,” says Hashirama.

“Okay, I’ll talk to the Uchiha children and you talk to the Senju,” says Izuna to Hashirama. “I think our brothers need a moment to themselves.”

It hadn’t escaped Izuna’s notice that Madara and Tobirama hadn’t taken their eyes off of each other ever since they had arrived at the park. So while he and Hashirama went to talk to the children, Madara and Tobirama went into the woods for some privacy.

 

They travel half a mile into the forest before Madara decides that they’re far enough away from the others. He grasps Tobirama’s shoulders and gently pushes his mate against a tree, pressing his nose against Tobirama’s neck to breath in his intoxicating scent. He sighs in pleasure as Tobirama’s arms wrap around him. “I’ll be happier when we can do this every day,” he says.

Tobirama hums in agreement. “I don’t like going so long without seeing you,” admits Tobirama. “And it’s not just because of my instincts; I enjoy the conversations we have.”

Madara smiles against the side of Tobirama’s neck. “As do I. And the sex is really good too,” he says before pressing a soft kiss against his mate’s throat.

Tobirama tilts his head to the side, giving his alpha better access to his throat. His eyes close in pleasure as Madara licks the side of his neck, nipping and sucking on the skin to leave his mark. If they lived together, he thinks there wouldn’t be a day that would go by where he didn’t have Madara’s mark on his neck. He likes the thought of it, of being claimed by someone who cares about him.

Madara sinks his teeth into Tobirama’s neck, hearing the omega let out a soft moan of pleasure and pain as the taste of blood fills his mouth. He laps up the blood with his tongue, noticing that his mate’s scent has changed, reflecting the other man’s growing arousal.

Tobirama shudders, a jolt of heat shooting through him as Madara’s tongue caresses his neck. He reaches up and threads his fingers through Madara’s hair, pulling the other man’s head up so that he can press their lips together. Their kiss starts off gentle, the pressure of their lips against each other as light as a feather.

Madara swipes his tongue over Tobirama’s lower lip and his omega’s lips part in a breathless moan. He takes his time exploring every inch of Tobirama’s mouth, feeling the other man jolt in surprise when his tongue brushes against the roof of his mouth. He does it again, amused by his mate’s reaction, and feels the fingers in his hair tighten painfully. Getting the hint, he moves his tongue lower, licking softly over Tobirama’s teeth.

Gradually, their kiss increases in intensity until they’re kissing each other roughly, hands clawing at each other’s clothing. They reluctantly pull back from the kiss long enough to remove their shirts, immediately attaching their lips together again afterwards. They both let out purring moans, pleased by the new skin contact.

Tobirama runs his hands down his mate’s muscular back, while Madara trails his fingers up Tobirama’s sides, almost causing the omega to let out a laugh at the slight ticklish feeling. Madara steps back an inch, giving him room to run his hands up Tobirama’s chest.

Tobirama turns his head to the side, letting out a breathless gasp as Madara rubs and pinches his nipples. He pants for breath, squirming as he feels slick begin to drip from his entrance and down his thighs. He hooks his thumbs underneath the waist of his pants and slides the garment down, freeing his aching erection. The fabric slides down to his ankles; he steps out of it and nudges the pants out of the way with his foot.

Madara takes the time to take off his own pants, licking his lips at the sight of his omega’s naked form. He steps forward, hissing in pleasure as their cocks brush against each other. Tobirama wraps his arms around Madara’s shoulders, his hips twitching forward to get more of that pleasurable friction. Madara reaches down between and takes hold of their erections, stroking them firmly, both of them letting out soft moans.

Tobirama squirms, hips jerking forward into Madara’s touch. He wraps his leg around his mate’s hip, involuntarily letting out a pleading whine at the feeling of more slick dripping from his entrance. He feels empty, his hole clenching down around nothing. His fingers twitch in surprise as he feels Madara’s finger circling around his entrance, rubbing teasingly soft.

“Madara…..quit _…._ teasing,” he says between panted breaths. His breath hitches when the finger slides inside, moaning softly as the slender digit begins to rub insistently against his prostate.

Tobirama makes an unhappy noise when the finger is removed, clutching onto Madara’s shoulders as the older man grabs his other leg and wraps it around his hip. His weight is now being completely supported by Madara and the tree; and the knowledge of how strong his mate is has his cock throbbing. 

Madara presses the tip of his cock against Tobirama’s entrance then slowly slides inside, groaning at the feeling of wet heat surrounding him. He grips Tobirama’s hips tightly and begins to thrust inside, hearing his mate let out soft moans and whimpers every time he brushes against the other man’s sweet spot.

Tobirama clings to Madara’s back, accidently digging his nails into the skin. His back scrapes against the tree every time Madara moves, but the pleasure distracts him from the minor irritation. His mouth opens in a wordless shout, body shuddering as the pleasure reaches its peak. His cock twitches, semen shooting out to land on his stomach.

Madara sucks in a sharp breath through his teeth as he feels Tobirama’s muscles tighten around him. He buries his face in his mate’s neck and sinks his teeth into the soft skin, muffling the loud groan he makes as he cums. He feels his knot swell and reluctantly pulls back, not wanting them to be stuck here for the next fifteen minutes. 

Madara lowers Tobirama’s legs to the ground and goes over to their pile of clothes. He gets out a wash cloth from a storage scroll and cleans himself up, handing the cloth over to Tobirama to do the same. As they’re getting dressed, he notices that Tobirama’s back is red.

“Are you alright?” he asks in concern.

Tobirama blinks in surprise then realizes where Madara is looking. “Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just a few scratches. I might even be able to heal it myself later. I’ve been reading up on medical jutsus. I’ve managed to make some progress on my second gender switching jutsu; and at some point, I should probably come up with a name for it.”

Madara bites his lip to stop a frown from forming at the thought of that jutsu. “Do you plan to change back into an alpha after our child is born?”

Tobirama pauses before replying, hearing a bit of unhappiness in Madara’s tone. “Not right away, no. If I go into heat everytime I change back, then I should wait until we’re ready to have more kids before trying out the jutsu.”

Madara’s eyes widen in surprise. “You plan to stay an omega then?” 

“Yes. I’d like to be able to keep our bond, but I’ve never heard of a bond between alphas. I’m actually a bit worried that our bond won’t survive me switching into an alpha, however brief it might be. But I need to test the jutsu, to prove that it works. I think there could be a lot of benefits to people being able to change their second gender,” says Tobirama.

And if changing back did break the bond, then they would simply have to re-create it. Luckily, the breaking of a bond doesn’t cause any damage or prevent someone from bonding again. It was the time it took for a bond to break that was painful. Normally, the only way to break the connection with your mate was to stay away from each other for a long period of time; and your instincts screamed at you the whole time to go to them.

Madara smiles slightly, pleased that Tobirama wants to stay bonded to him. “If the bond breaks, then we’ll reform him it,” he says. “For now, I think it’s time we head back.”

* * *

When they return to the park, they see Hashirama sitting on the ground with the children standing around him. They weren’t sure, but it looks like Hashirama is telling them a story, his hands moving through the air to emphasize his words. Whatever he was doing, it was working. The Senju and Uchiha children were calmly standing near one another without any sign of their earlier nervousness.

After story time, Hashirama leads the children over to the swings and slides. None of them have ever used the swings before, so Hashirama explains how to move your legs to go higher.

As there are only four swings, the children take turns – two Uchiha and two Senju while the other four children line up at the slide. Looking at the parents’ faces, Tobirama can see that they’re surprised to see their children acting so carefree. He remembers when he was younger, he didn’t play in front of his parents in case they decided his time was better spent training or doing chores.

After about ten minutes, Hashirama has them switch playground equipment, trying to give everyone a chance on the swings. Luckily, the park was not very crowded today, so they didn’t have to worry about hogging the equipment and upsetting the civilian children.

The longer the children play on the park equipment, the more comfortable they seem to be around each other. Soon enough, they were relaxed enough to start talking to each other. Tobirama hears them chatting about their families and friends, as well as what games they liked to play.

Eventually, the children discover a game that both the Uchiha and Senju know and get off the swings and slide to play together. After a couple hours of running around, the children are called over to their parents for lunch. Although there were picnic tables on either side of the park, the children instead took their plates with them to the middle of the park to eat with their new friends.

Tobirama scans the parents’ faces, relieved when none of them look offended by their children choosing to sit with their new friends. He was glad that none of the kids had tried to invite the other clan’s children to sit with them at their parents’ table. He’s sure that the parents would have freaked out at seeing their kids sitting so close to the adults they used to fight on the battlefield. But, he thinks the Senju/Uchiha children understand how uncomfortable their parents would be if they went near the Uchiha/Senju adults.

Although these children have never been on the battlefield, they’ve no doubt heard their parents talking about how much they hate the other clan. And the kids might have even known relatives who were killed by the other clan. It almost seems like a miracle that the Senju and Uchiha children were able to get along so quickly. Perhaps children found it easier to forgive than adults did.

After lunch, Madara decides to introduce Tobirama to his clansmen while the children continue playing. To his surprise, the other Uchiha actually act rather polite to his mate. Perhaps seeing their children having fun with the Senju kids had lessened their hated of the Senju clan? At the very least, it must have shown them that the Senju children were in fact children, not tiny assassins.

When he voices this thought to Izuna half an hour later while the two of them are by themselves at the edge of the park, Izuna grins. “Or maybe it’s because he smells like you. It’s difficult to be angry with someone when they smell like the respected leader of your clan. Also, you looked happy when you came back to the park with Tobirama. They probably think that someone who’s able to make one of their clansmen happy can’t be that bad,” says Izuna.

Madara fights back a blush. “They’re trying to be nice to him for my sake?” he asks.

“Mmhm. Not everyone likes your idea of making peace with the Senju, but they do understand that you’re trying to do what’s best for the clan. You may not always get along with them but they do respect you. And I think most of us are aware that you wanted to stop the war before you bonded with Tobirama, and that the bond was like a catalyst to get you to try harder to convince the clans to give peace a chance,” says Izuna.

“I suppose what I’m trying to say is that no one thinks you’re promoting peace for selfish reasons, such as only caring about being able to be with your new mate. Granted, that’s one of your reasons, but everyone respects the fact that one of your main reasons for making peace with the Senju is so that your clansmen stop getting killed,” says Izuna.

Madara glances up at the sky, feeling embarrassed. He had known the clan thought highly of his physical strength but hadn’t realized they cared about anything else. He can’t remember a time when he wasn’t treated like a soldier and a weapon. And maybe it wasn’t true, but sometimes it had felt like his parents’ love was dependent on how strong he was. Would they have loved him less if he was born of average strength?

The only ones in the clan he had been certain who would love him no matter what were his brothers. It had felt like a piece of him had been ripped out when his brothers, Jiro, Takeo, and Keitaro, had died. He wasn’t sure he could handle it if Izuna died as well.

“What I never understood is why they didn’t seem to care about the deaths the way I did,” says Madara. “They would get angry and grieve; and instead of trying to make sure they never had to feel that way again, they went back onto the battlefield to watch more of their clansmen die. When did revenge become more important than living?”

Izuna mirrors his brother’s frustrated expression as he thinks about their childhood. “When we were kids, it was the people our own age who didn’t want to fight but the adults didn’t give us a choice. They raised us to hate the Senju and to want to kill them. Eventually, those children grew into bitter adults full of hatred.”

Izuna glances over at the children playing in the park. “If you hadn’t pushed for peace with the Senju, those kids would be at home, training for their first battle. Because of you, they get to enjoy their childhood.”

“It would have been more difficult to convince the clan without your help,” says Madara. “I’m glad you decided to stand with me.”

Izuna blinks in surprise then smiles. “Brothers should stick together. I wasn’t thrilled with the idea at first, but I knew it would make your life difficult if we kept fighting the Senju clan. And now, seeing the Uchiha and Senju children playing together, I don’t have any more doubts. Creating a peace treaty with the Senju clan was the right decision.”

“And what do you think of my idea to build a village?” asks Madara.

“The first thing that comes to mind is, ‘How are we going to pay for it?’ Building that many houses and shops won’t be cheap,” says Izuna.

“I think Hashirama might be able to make some of the buildings with his Mokuton,” suggests Madara.

“And we do have some money in reserve, the Senju’s probably do as well, but we’re not rich. We could afford a few buildings, maybe. We might have to take out a loan,” says Izuna.

Madara scowls at the idea. “Only if they’re reasonable about it. We’ll need time to earn that kind of money back. I won’t have our village being influenced by outside forces because we owe them money.”

“Influence? You mean them having a say in who leads the village and what our laws are?” asks Izuna.

“Yes, exactly that,” replies Madara. A pensive expression crosses his face. “I wonder if anyone in our clan and the Senju clan would be willing to learn how to build?”

Izuna nods his head. “We currently have a couple of people who know how and they’ve been looking for an apprentice. We could get them to teach anyone who’s willing to help us build.”

“If we did it this way, the Uchiha clan could be responsible for building our own houses in the village,” says Madara. “And the other clans we plan to invite probably have their own builders. They might need a bit more incentive to join the village, though, if they’re having to build their clan’s houses themselves.”

“We could supply the building materials?” suggests Izuna. “It’s cheaper to buy the materials than to hire someone to build it. And we can chop down the trees ourselves for free.”

Madara starts to reply but pauses as something occurs to him. “The shadow clone jutsu.”

“What?” asks Izuna, bemused.

“Some of us in the Uchiha and Senju clan have enough chakra to make at least a few shadow clones. And there are less chakra draining clones the others could use; they just won’t get the clones’ memories. We can use clones to help us chop wood faster and to put the buildings together. It’ll be as if we have twice as many builders,” says Madara, starting to sound excited.

“We could have half the clan on building duty while the other half takes missions so we don’t go broke,” says Izuna.

“Yes, but we’ll also need some people to plant farms near the village when we get the space cleared. After the village is finished, some of the civilians can take care of the farms and sell the food in the marketplace,” says Madara.

“Is it the farmers that run the grocery stores or do they sell their crops to the store?” asks Izuna.

Madara shrugs, not knowing any more about that than Izuna did. “I don’t know how that works but I’m sure the farmers and store owners can discuss that and figure out a system that works for them.”

“So perhaps we should start off by clearing land for the farms and build the houses for the farmers. Then we could have them move in and start growing food while the rest of us build the rest of the village,” says Izuna. “We’ll want there to be a source of food available by the time we’re ready to have people start moving to the village.”

Madara nods his head in agreement, a pleased look entering his eyes as he thinks about what the village will look like. “We might need to hire an architect. I’d like the layout of our village to make sense.”

A mischievous gleam enters Izuna’s eyes as he thinks of all the ways they could baffle people with the layout of the village. Reluctantly, he agrees with Madara to hire an architect. They don’t want people to refuse to live in the village because they’d get lost all the time. “Perhaps we should write our ideas down so we don’t forget anything important?” suggests Izuna.

Madara gets out paper and pen and jots down their ideas. Then he gets out a second piece of paper to make a duplicate. “For Tobirama and Hashirama,” he says in response to his brother’s quizzical look.

“We should probably set up a meeting with them in the future, just the four of us, to discuss the village,” says Izuna.

“I’ll ask them when would be a good time to meet up before we leave the park today,” says Madara.

The two of them watch the children play for a while and Madara wonders what it’ll be like when his own child is born. He’s glad that Tobirama enjoys teaching as he’s no good at it. He’s tried before but he’s not very good at explaining things. As a kid, he didn’t have as much difficulty as the other kids did at learning new jutus. Because of that, he didn’t need to have the adults explain, in detail, how to do the jutsu or katas. He was able to learn by watching someone perform the jutus or kata, which made it difficult for him to teach someone who couldn’t do the same thing.

Unless his kid ends up learning the same way he does, he won’t be able to teach him/her to fight. Although, he’ll be able to handle the history and calligraphy lessons. And if his kid inherits the Sharingan and needs more help than he can provide, he’s sure that someone from the clan, Izuna perhaps, will be able to help.

Tobirama can take care of the self-defense and science lessons. Perhaps Hashirama will want to help and teach the kid first-aid or even medical jutus if the child shows interest in that?

Madara’s mind is drawn back to the present as the children separate and head back to their parents. It looks like the play date is over. He scans the parents’ faces, seeing less hostility than there was this morning. In his opinion, this outing was a definite success.

Madara and Izuna head over to the other Senju and begin saying their good-byes. Madara gives Hashirama their list of ideas for the village and sets up a future meeting for them to discuss it. They also make plans for another play date next week with a different group of children.

Madara walks up to Tobirama and lays a hand on the omega’s shoulder, giving him a chaste kiss on the lips. It’s a bit embarrassing to do that in front of other people, but he wants to say a proper goodbye to his mate. “I’ll see you next month, Tobirama.”

Tobirama smiles at him, reaching up to hold the hand on his shoulder. “I look forward to it,” he says then reluctantly lets go of Madara’s hand so his alpha can leave with the other Uchiha. He puts a look of neutrality on his face and leaves the park with his clansmen, not allowing himself to look back and watch Madara leave. There would come a time when they could live together; he just had to be patient.

  


	8. Chapter Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: There is some talk of pedophiles in this chapter, but nothing is described in detail.

Tobirama sits down in an armchair by the window and rests his chin on his hand, staring outside with an irritated look. He’s currently at home in the Senju compound, feeling restless. It’s month seven of his pregnancy and having Madara gone so often is really screwing with his instincts. It doesn’t help that right now Hashirama, as well as half the clan, are away right now, building his brother’s dream village.

He shouldn’t be feeling this unsettled right now; it’s only been two weeks since he saw Madara, not a month. However, being this pregnant has made his instincts more demanding. And it doesn’t help that Hashirama isn’t here right now either. He’s been having trouble sleeping, unable to feel safe enough to let down his guard.

He feels like pacing the floor but that would only make his ankles sore. He wonders if Madara would visit him if he sent a letter. He gets up from the chair and over to the bookshelf where they keep blank sheets of paper on one of the shelves. He’s not sure what to write at first; he doesn’t want to sound needy but if he’s too aloof Madara won’t understand how much he needs him to visit.

Eventually, he figures out what to say, making sure to mention that he’s having trouble sleeping as that should be guaranteed to get his mate to visit him. Tobirama sets the letter down on the table. Someone will be stopping by later to check on him, an order given by Hashirama, and they can take the letter all the way down to the mailbox. He wonders if the other omegas of the clan are as unnerved by Hashirama’s absence as he is.

There are two types of alphas: your alpha mate and the family or village alpha. The alpha mate is self-explanatory; it’s the alpha that you’re in a relationship with. The family, or village, alpha is the strongest alpha living in your village. Of if you’re from a ninja clan, living in the clan compound, it’s the strongest alpha in your clan, who is usually the Clan Head.

Generally, only omegas have an alpha mate, but there are some betas who form romantic relationships with an alpha. Currently, it’s still unheard of, and considered weird, for alphas to date each other. However, whatever your second gender is, unless you’re living out in the middle of nowhere by yourself, you’ve got a family/village alpha. Unless you are that alpha, of course.

Four days after his letter is sent, Tobirama senses Madara’s chakra approaching the clan compound. He’s surprised that his mate is coming here so soon. His letter would have only arrived yesterday. Madara would have had to leave as soon as he got the letter to get here this fast. He’s glad that his mate is taking his problems seriously. Perhaps he’ll be able to get a good night’s sleep now that Madara will be here to calm his instincts.

By this point in time, there have been several ‘play dates’ between the Senju and Uchiha children, so a lot of the adults of his clan have gotten used to seeing Madara. There shouldn’t be too many protests at Madara visiting the compound, as long as he doesn’t wonder around without Tobirama. Though as Tobirama’s ankles start to ache if he walks around too much, he doesn’t think the two of them will leave the house much. However, they might go out into the back yard to get some fresh air. Tobirama opens the front door when Madara is only a few feet from the house and smiles in greeting.

He sees Madara’s expression go from ‘happy to see you’ to ‘concerned for your health.’ He knows that he has bags under his eyes from lack of sleep and probably looks exhausted.

“Madara, thank you for getting here so soon,” says Tobirama, stepping back so that Madara can come inside.

“I didn’t want to delay when I read you were having trouble sleeping,” replies Madara, entering the house. “I was worried. Do you think you’ll be able to sleep now that I’m here?”

“I think so. I’m already starting to feel more relaxed,” says Tobirama.

“Then perhaps a nap is in order?” suggests Madara. “I can make us supper while you sleep or would it be better for me to lie down next to you?”

“I think it would help if you were with me, at least until I fall asleep,” admits Tobirama.

The two of them go into Tobirama’s room and get comfortable on the bed. Tobirama cuddles up to Madara, happily breathing in his mate’s scent and feeling days of tension seep out of his muscles. He lets out a soft purring noise as he feels Madara’s fingers in his hair, getting more and more relaxed until he’s finally able to fall asleep.

When Tobirama wakes up, Madara is no longer beside him and the scent of food has drifted into his room from the kitchen. His stomach growls in hunger, so he goes to the kitchen to see what Madara has prepared. He sees lids on the pots resting on the stove, keeping them warm.

Madara looks up from the book he’s reading on the couch and smiles. “You’re awake.” He hears Tobirama’s stomach growl. “And hungry, I see. I think it’s time to eat.”

The two of them sit together at the table and eat supper. Glancing at the clock, Tobirama sees that it’s 8 p.m, four hours after he went to bed. “Did you wait for me to wake up before eating?”

“Yes,” replies Madara. “I wanted to eat supper with you. Though, I would have had to eat alone if you had stayed asleep much longer. I wasn’t sure if you were going to wake up tonight or sleep until morning, so I decided to wait until 9. If you hadn’t woken by then, I would have eaten and placed leftovers in the fridge for you to eat later.”

Tobirama looks down at the table, a soft smile on his face. He’s pleased that his mate wanted them to eat together. He enjoys spending time with Madara and is glad that the other man feels the same way.

“Well, as long as you’re here, my sleep schedule should be normal and we can eat every meal together,” says Tobirama.

“And when I’m not here, you’ll have trouble sleeping again?” asks Madara, concerned.

“Well, yes,” replies Tobirama, awkwardly. “I don’t really know what we could do about that, though. You can’t stay here all the time; we’re already short on builders.”

Madara bites his lip, trying to think of a solution. “Do you think having something with my scent on it would help?”

“Maybe? It wouldn’t be the same as being able to sense your chakra and actually seeing you, but having your scent nearby might trick my instincts enough to let me get some sleep,” says Tobirama.

“Then before I leave, I can give you a few of my shirts, ones that I’ve worn long enough to leave my scent on,” says Madara.

“Okay,” agrees Tobirama, feeling a bit frustrated that he needs something like that.

After dinner, Tobirama has to fight back a yawn. Even though he just took a nap, he’s still tired. After going several days where he could only get a few hours of sleep a day, he’ll probably sleep until late afternoon tomorrow.

Tobirama enjoys lying down next to Madara and the feel of his mate’s hand gently rubbing his stomach. He can see a soft look enter Madara’s eyes every time the alpha looks at his pregnant stomach, and feels excited at the thought of raising a child together with this man.

Tobirama wakes up at around two in the afternoon the next day, feeling truly rested for the first time in days. It’s a relief to feel clear headed again, and he dreads how tired he’s going to be when Madara eventually leaves. If they ever have a second child, he’s going to do it at a time when either Madara or Hashirama can be with him at all times. Hashirama will only be allowed to leave the village if Madara can stay while the brunette is gone and vice-versa.

Even with the other alphas of his clan stopping by occasionally, he doesn’t feel safe without Hashirama or Madara. In the days leading up to his mate’s visit, he had talked to some of the Senju omegas and discovered that they were not as bothered by Hashirama’s absence as he was. Apparently, the problem was that he didn’t trust the rest of his clan enough.

Growing up, Hashirama was the one who wanted to keep him safe and off the battlefield. All the adults wanted him to fight and kill as soon as possible. Looking at it like that, it was no wonder he couldn’t bring himself to trust them completely. He didn’t think that they would attack him themselves, but he couldn’t make himself believe that his safety was a top priority to them. Perhaps in time, now that the war is over, he’ll learn how to truly trust his clansmen.

Tobirama climbs out of bed and heads into the kitchen and sees that Madara is reading at the dining room table, plates of fruits and diced vegetables scattered around the table. As he watches, Madara blindly reaches out and grabs a strawberry and pops it into his mouth, his eyes never leaving the book he’s reading.

Smiling in amusement, Tobirama sits down next to his mate, pulling a plate of food closer to his seat. He sees Madara look up in surprise at the crunch sound of him eating vegetables. His mate sets his book down on the table and scoots their chairs closer together. Tobirama then feels Madara wrap an arm around his shoulders.

“Good morning, Tobirama. Did you sleep well?” asks Madara.

Tobirama leans against Madara, purring in contentment. “I slept very well. I was starting to worry that I was going to start hallucinating if I went without sleep for much longer.”

“Hallucinate?” asks Madara, surprised.

“Mmhmm. I guess not everybody knows this; but if you stay awake for too long, say a few days straight, you can begin hallucinating. I wasn’t quite to that point yet as I was getting a few hours of sleep a day, but it was getting more and more difficult to get even that much sleep,” says Tobirama.

“Well, hopefully it won’t get that bad again. I can leave a few shirts with my scent on them and visit you every week,” says Madara. He picks up a grape from the table and holds it up to Tobirama’s mouth.

Tobirama parts his lips and lets Madara drop the grape into his mouth, amused when his mate does it again. He’s not sure why Madara has decided to hand-feed him, but he doesn’t mind. It’s kind of fun. He accepts a piece of cantaloupe, letting his tongue flick out to lick the juice from Madara’s fingers. He feels Madara shiver and smiles, pressing a soft kiss against the palm of Madara’s hand.

Tobirama hears Madara purr and the faint scent of arousal fills the room. For a moment, he thinks they’re going to move things to the bedroom but then his stomach growls, ruining the mood. He feels Madara’s body shake as the Uchiha laughs softly. Madara pulls a plate of vegetables closer, then grabs a cucumber slice to give to Tobirama.

Tobirama glances at the vegetable, making sure there’s no salt on it before accepting it into his mouth. He knows that some people like salt on their cucumbers but he’s always found the taste of that to be a bit odd. Normally, Tobirama would probably be a bit uncomfortable with being handfed, but he knows that it’s Madara’s alpha instincts causing him to act this way. His alpha is trying to comfort and provide for his pregnant omega. And after the stressful week he’s had, he actually finds it a bit soothing.

After breakfast, the two of them sit on the couch together, with Tobirama’s back pressed against Madara’s chest and Madara’s hand resting on Tobirama’s stomach. “Aside from not sleeping, what have you been up to while I was away?” asks Madara.

“Not much,” says Tobirama. “I’ve knitted a few more things and Hashirama created a crib for our child.”

“I saw that, sitting against the wall in your bedroom. I could sense his chakra in the wood. I have a feeling we won’t have to worry about it breaking, and it looks nice,” says Madara.

“Some of the other omegas were jealous when they saw it,” says Tobirama, smiling. “I think they might end up asking Hashirama to make them one in the future.”

Madara chuckles. “He could open up a furniture store. And you could have a shop right next to him selling blankets,” teases Madara. “You have five knitted blankets on your bed, and I even saw a few knitted pillows.”

Tobirama shrugs. “I don’t really have much to do right now, except read. I still try to exercise but my ankles get sore if I move around too much.”

“Have you tried soaking them in warm water?” asks Madara.

“Yes, there’s a bucket for that in the bathroom. One of my clansmen visits once a day to see if I need anything, and I’ll usually ask him to fill up the bucket and bring it to the living room for me. Technically, I _could_ do it myself but it’s just….easier….to have him do it,” says Tobirama.

It almost feels lazy not to do it himself. He’s a ninja; even pregnant, he can lift a bucket of water. It’s the bending over to get it in and out of the tub he doesn’t like. And Hashirama had insisted before he left to take it easy and let someone help him.

“There’s nothing wrong with taking it easy while you’re pregnant, especially during the third trimester,” reassures Madara. “What kind of exercise have you been trying?”

“Mostly, I’ve just been going on walks, either around the compound or in the woods, though Hashirama insists that I take someone with me when I leave the compound,” says Tobirama, frowning.

“Being alone when an enemy attacks wouldn’t be good,” muses Madara. “Are you even able to use your teleportation technique while pregnant?”

“I don’t know,” replies Tobirama, sighing. “I _should_ be able to, but what if it’s bad for the fetus? There’s no way to know without testing it, and I won’t risk hurting our child to find out.”

“And even if someone else knew how to use your technique, they wouldn’t risk it while pregnant either,” says Madara. “Which means we’ll likely never know if it’s safe, unless something terrible happens where you have no choice but to use the technique.”

“Like if I was seconds away from death and the only way to save myself would be to teleport away?” asks Tobirama.

“Yes,” replies Madara, firmly. “I know your instincts will protest doing something that could harm the fetus, but dying would make that a moot point. Don’t hesitate to use the jutsu to get away if there’s no other way to save yourself.”

“Okay,” agrees Tobirama, somewhat reluctantly. He hopes it won’t come to that, having to use a jutsu that might kill his child to save himself. The thought of losing his child makes his chest ache. His child hasn’t even been born yet but he already loves him/her.

Seeing the despair in his mate’s eyes, Madara tries to change the subject. “I can go with you on your walks in the woods. We can enjoy nature together. We can look at the different types of birds and hear that weird noise the squirrels make.”

A small smile appears on Tobirama’s face. “It is weird,” he agrees. “Watching birds, that’s something you like to do?”

“Yes. Though I’m not obsessed like some of the bird watchers I’ve met. They can sit in the forest for hours, waiting and hoping for a chance to see some rare bird. I just like to walk through the forest and watch the birds fly around,” says Madara. “Sometimes, I wonder what it would be like if humans could fly.”

Tobirama tilts his head to the side in thought. “If we had wings, they’d have to be rather large. And our bones would be hollow, like a birds. We’d be lighter. It wouldn’t be so bad for the civilians, but the ninjas would need to reinforce our bones with chakra so we don’t break our hands every time we punch someone.”

“Have you thought of this before?” asks Madara, amused.

“Once or twice,” replies Tobirama, shrugging. “I think a lot of people wonder what it would be like to fly; my wonderings are just a bit more specific because I know bird anatomy.”

“Have you studied other animals as well?” asks Madara, silently wondering whether Tobirama had gotten a book on bird anatomy or if he killed himself a bird and done an autopsy. It doesn’t bother him either way; they are ninja, after all. He’s just curious to know whether Tobirama prefers to learn things hands-on or if he’s content to learn it from a book.

“Yes, it’s a hobby of mine to study different animal species. Though lately, I’ve had to focus my attention on studying human anatomy. I probably should have started with humans, to be honest. It would have been more useful to learn how to heal humans instead of how many bones a fox has,” says Tobirama.

Madara opens his mouth to reply, pauses as he thinks about that last sentence, and asks, “How many bones _does_ a fox a have?”

“136,” replies Tobirama, lips twitching in amusement. “Humans have 206 bones.”

“Right,” mutters Madara, shaking his head to get his mind back on track. “I think it’s fine that you learned about animals before people. It’s not wrong to have interests outside of war.”

Tobirama looks down at the ground, feeling a strong surge of affection and gratitude towards Madara. It was nice to know that his mate supported him and didn’t judge him for his interests. “Thank you.”

There’s a moment of silence as they both try to think of what to talk about next. “What else do you like to do outside, besides bird watching?” asks Tobirama.

“Well, when I was younger, I liked to try rock climbing without chakra. And I have fond memories of my father teaching my brothers and I how to hunt for food,” says Madara. “Though learning how to skin the animals was nauseating at the time.”

“I enjoy fishing,” says Tobirama. “And it’s not any less disgusting to descale a fish than to skin a deer. My family mostly fished at the river but there were a few times when we got to visit the ocean.”

“Did you and your brothers skip rocks over the water?” asks Madara.

“Yes,” says Tobirama, surprised. “All the time. We would compete to see who could get their rock the farthest. The one who lost had to help the winner with their chores the next day.”

“Who usually won?” asks Madara.

“Well, half the time it was either Hashirama or me. The other half of the time, we let Kawarama or Itama win. We didn’t want them to get upset that we were winning all of the time; and helping them with their chores made it so that they didn’t mind helping us when we won the game,” replies Tobirama.

“My family didn’t do a lot of fishing when I was a kid. As a result of that, there weren’t many occasions for rock skipping. The first time I met Hashirama at the river, I was terrible at it. The rock kept sinking. He showed me how to throw it correctly; apparently it doesn’t work if you throw the rock like a shuriken,” says Madara, smiling. It had been frustrating at the time, to keep failing to get the rock across the water; but now he found it a bit amusing that he thought he could skip rocks by throwing them like a weapon.

“He would have noticed that,” says Tobirama. “He would have known from the first meeting that you were a ninja but he kept meeting up with you anyway. I wonder why.”

Madara thinks back to his first meeting with Hashirama, trying to put it words what he had felt back then. “It’s difficult to explain. I think that both of us could tell on some instinctual level that we were kindred spirits. We didn’t know it yet, but we both wanted peace. We were older brothers hoping that one day we could make the world safe for our younger brothers.”

“That’s one of the reasons he wanted to build the village, wasn’t it?” asks Tobirama. “He wanted to create a place where I wouldn’t have to fight anymore.”

“Yes, it’s what we both wanted. We couldn’t stand it, the thought of losing another sibling. And we also hoped that we could spare others that pain as well, by creating a safe place for children to grow and learn. A place for them to grow strong without adults trying to kill them,” says Madara.

“Without enemy nin trying to kill them, anyway. Our border patrols should be able to keep them out. But we’ll still have to worry that one of our own might be crazy. We won’t interact with the civilians as much as the ninja, so we might not notice if one of them is….not of sound mind,” says Tobirama.

Madara frowns and asks, “Are you talking about pedophiles?”

“Yes. The children from ninja families will probably be able to defend themselves even before they enter the Academy, but what about the civilian children? And, for that matter, what if the ninja children don’t realize that what the adult is doing to them is wrong? The pedophile might try to trick the child into not telling anyone or not fighting back by making it seem like what he or she is doing isn’t that bad,” says Tobirama.

“……Has anything like that happened to you?” asks Madara, concerned.

Tobirama sighs. “No, not me, or any of my brothers, thankfully. But when I was about 12, one of my cousins was visiting a civilian town with his parents. He was ten years old and had fought and survived in a battle with an enemy clan, so his parents thought it would be safe to let him wander around by himself. They didn’t think any of the civilians would pose a threat to him.”

Tobirama can’t keep the irritation out of his voice as he continues speaking, “They thought he was too young to know about sex but not too young to kill. My cousin didn’t think to be wary of the nice civilian man who gave him free food. And when the man said he had dessert at home, my cousin naively went with him.”

There’s a long moment of silence as Tobirama tries to keep his emotions under control. “What happened to him, to your cousin, I mean?” asks Madara.

“He left when the man started to hurt him but he was shaken up by what happened. He didn’t know what the man was doing when he started to touch him. The parents were furious when they heard what happened, at the civilian not their child. They at least had the common sense to realize their kid wasn’t to blame as they had never explained to him what sex was or that adults might try to touch him when they shouldn’t. My cousin barely spoke for three months after that,” says Tobirama.

“And now that I’m pregnant, I can’t stop thinking about all the things that could go wrong. Not just to our child, either, but all the children that will be living in the Village. If the parents won’t educate their children about the possible dangers, then the schools need to.”

“Then they will,” says Madara, firmly. “I think the ninja won’t have any problem with having a lesson about pedophiles, as they understand how messed up the world is. The civilians might be uncomfortable with the idea; but we’ll make it mandatory that either they warn their children or the school will.”

Tobirama relaxes, relieved that they’re going to do what they can to protect the children. “I think there should also be First Aid classes at the Academy. Even if they don’t become medics, they should know how to properly bandage a wound so that they don’t bleed to death before an actual healer can get to them.”

“Alright. And perhaps hunting and fishing classes so that they can survive in the wild. The ninjas may teach their children that but I doubt the civilians do,” suggests Madara.

Tobirama nods his head, pauses, then abruptly asks, “Do you want to go for a walk with me?”

“In the forest?” asks Madara.

“Yes. I’m starting to feel a bit restless. It’s not too long ago that I slept for several hours. I need to get up and move around,” replies Tobirama.

“Alright, sounds good to me,” says Madara. The two of them get up from the couch and head outside. Madara glances up at the sky, glad to see no sign of rain clouds. He doesn’t want their walk to get cut short. It’s a nice day out today, and he thinks the fresh air will be good for Tobirama.

They don’t go too far into the forest, wanting to be near enough to the compound for Tobirama’s clansmen to reach them in case of an enemy attack. And Madara only wishes that they were being paranoid, but they still live in a dangerous time. The Uchiha may not be enemies of the Senju anymore, but their two clans still have other foes. He wonders if there will ever be a time when someone can walk through the woods without worrying that someone is going to suddenly appear to stab them in the back.

Madara feels Tobirama’s shoulder press against his and glances at his mate. His omega silently points to the right, where a group of deer are slowly making their way through the forest. The two of them hold still until the deer see them, watching the four legged creatures run off at the sight of them.

They walk for about fifteen minutes, enjoying the sight and smell of nature, before heading back to the clan compound. Madara notices Tobirama glancing down at his feet. “When we get back, would you like me to fill up the bucket with warm water?”

Tobirama nods. “Yes, I would appreciate that. Thank you.”

After filling up the bucket, Madara cuddles up to Tobirama on the couch while the Senju soaks his feet. He smiles as his mate begins to purr, glad to know that Tobirama is happy. Ideally, pregnancy would be a relaxing time for omegas as their mate and family pamper them. Unfortunately, most of Tobirama’s family is needed to build the village, so that their child will have a peaceful place to grow up in. Perhaps, if they have another child in the future, he can make sure that that pregnancy is as relaxing as possible for Tobirama.

“The village is coming along nicely,” says Madara. “We’ve got a few dozen houses built and the farms have started to sprout. I think our two clans might be able to move there soon, perhaps in a couple of months.”

“Good,” replies Tobirama, smiling. “Have you and Hashirama thought of a name for this village yet?”

“We were thinking we’d name the village Konohagakure and the title for the leader of the village will be Hokage,” says Madara.

“Village Hidden in the Leaves and Fire Shadow?” asks Tobirama, amused. “How creative.”

“It’s unique,” says Madara, shrugging. “But right now, I’m wondering who’s going to live where. Will each clan have its own compound or will they be a bit more scattered throughout the village?”

A contemplative look enters Tobirama’s eyes. “Although it would probably make the clans feel more comfortable living together, I think it would be better if they didn’t _all_ live in the same area. It’s not good if they stay isolated from the rest of the village. And whatever the rest of the clans do, I want us to live together. I think I’d like it if we could have a few fruit trees in the backyard as well.”

Madara blinks in surprise. “Okay. Were you wanting a garden as well or just the trees?”

“I wouldn’t mind growing a few things, like green beans and tomatoes. I don’t want to grow too much, as a garden is a lot of work, but having a small garden will cut down on some of the food costs,” replies Tobirama.

Madara hums in thought. “I wonder, if we used clones to cut down on the some of the work, would we be able to grow a larger garden?”

“Huh,” says Tobirama, looking a bit startled. “I hadn’t really considered the uses of that jutsu outside of battle. But that would make things easier. And since we’ll have a kid, it’s doubtful that we’ll both be on a mission at the same time, so we won’t have to worry about the garden wilting while we’re gone.”

Madara nods his agreement. “And as to the earlier matter, I don’t think the clans would be comfortable being completely separated but perhaps a few families living next to each other would work. At least, this will work for the Uchiha and Senju clans. But the Inuzuka would need land to raise their dogs and the Nara their deer.”

Tobirama looks down at the bucket, swirling his feet through the warm water as he thinks. “We could give them land for raising their animals and however many clan members they need to raise them can live there. But I don’t see why at least one of two their clan can’t live further in the village. And if all the clans decide that they absolutely _have_ to live with the rest of their clan, then we’ll hold small get togethers. Invite a few people from each clan to lunch in the park, allow them to get to know each other.”

“Like the playdates we held for the children of our clans,” says Madara, amused.

“Something like that,” agrees Tobirama, almost laughing at the thought.

Tobirama feels the water in the bucket getting colder and frowns down at it. Madara notices the look and asks, “Do you want me to heat it up?”

“No, that’s okay. My feet are feeling better now,” replies Madara.

Madara grabs the towel sitting between them on the couch and places it on his lap. “Let me help you dry off.”

“Thank you,” says Tobirama, lying back on the couch. He places his feet on the towel, feeling a bit surprised when Madara begins to massage his feet after drying them. He closes his eyes, feeling a jolt of heat shoot through him as Madara’s thumb presses into the sole of his foot. He hadn’t thought his feet were sensitive, but he finds his arousal growing the longer Madara massages his feet, until his hips are squirming off the couch.

“Shall we take this to the bedroom?” asks Madara, smirking when Tobirama quickly nods his head. He helps his omega get up from the couch and they go into the bedroom. They make love slowly this time, lying on their sides with Madara’s arms wrapped around Tobirama.

Tobirama lets out a soft purr, relaxing in the afterglow, instincts happy that the bed smells like the two of them. He hears Madara’s breathing slow down as his mate falls asleep. Closing his eyes, he lets himself drift off, still tied to Madara.

 


	9. Chapter Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took a while, but I finally got this chapter done. I haven't given up on this story. Also, if anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear them. Any ideas for conversations they could have, activities they could do together, funny family moments. I don't really have this story planned out, so sometimes I'm just staring at the screen, wondering what to write next.

Sitting on the couch in the living room, Tobirama absent-mindedly rubs his stomach as he listens to Madara and Hashirama talk. The healer had said that he should be giving birth any day now, so the two alphas had left the construction site to stay with him. After the baby was born, they would give him a month to recover before helping him move to the new village.

Already half the clan had moved to Konoha and he had heard from Madara that just as many Uchihas had moved as well. It was going to be a bit odd at first, living in a new area, getting used to having a new territory. But it would be worth it, to be able to live with Madara. And apparently the two houses right next door to theirs would belong to Hashirama and Izuna. Madara’s brother had already moved into his new house, but Hashirama had decided not to move until Tobirama could go with him. Hearing Madara begin speaking, Tobirama turns his mind back to the present.

“One of the minor nobles wanted to hire me to assassinate some cousin of his who was set to inherit more money from their rich relative. I guess he thought he would get the money instead if his cousin was dead,” says Madara, shrugging. “Anyway, we ended up going to his room to discuss the details of the mission because he wanted to make sure no one would over hear us.”

Madara’s lips twitch in amusement at what he’s remembering. “His room was completely ridiculous. His carpet was about six inches tall and a really bright blue color. I have no idea how he kept the carpet clean of dust…..or cat hair. He had six cats, maybe more, but six was all I saw while I was there. He even had paintings of cats in his house.”

“But in his room, he had these weird abstract paintings. I don’t know what they were supposed to be. This guy had really eccentric taste. Which is probably why he wanted his relative’s money so badly, so he could afford to keep buying ridiculous and useless things.”

“Nobles do enjoy their eccentricities,” agrees Hashirama, laughter in his voice.

Tobirama continues to listen to them exchange stories of weird things their clients have done when he suddenly feels a sharp pain in his stomach. His pained gasp catches their attention, looking at him with worried expressions.

“Are you alright?” asks Hashirama, standing up from his chair to walk closer.

“I don’t know,” says Tobirama, wincing at another flair of pain. “It hurts.”

“Why don’t you go get the healer,” suggests Madara to Hashirama. “I’ll stay with him.”

Hashirama gives Tobirama one last worried look and rushes out the door. Madara stands up and holds his hand out to Tobirama. The Senju grasps his hand and Madara helps him up from the couch. “You should go ahead to the bedroom and get the plastic sheet on it,” says Tobirama.

Madara doesn’t waste time arguing and quickly makes his way to the bedroom while Tobirama slowly follows behind him. By the time he gets there, the excess blankets and pillows have been moved to the floor to be replaced by a plastic sheet with a soft, black cotton sheet over it.

The two sheets will be washed afterwards and given to the next person who’s going to give birth. They can’t really afford to waste fabric and since Tobirama isn’t sick, it won’t hurt anyone to use the sheet after him as long as it’s thoroughly cleaned first.

Tobirama leans against the dresser next to the bed, gritting his teeth as his muscles spasm. “I think I’m having contractions,” says Tobirama.

Tobirama glances over to Madara when he doesn’t hear a response, seeing a slightly dazed look in the Uchiha’s eyes. “Madara?”

Madara blinks at him. “The baby’s coming today? We’re going to be parents?”

The look Tobirama gives him is half amusement, half exasperation. “You’re not going to faint, are you? I’ve heard that some alphas do that when their omegas are giving birth.”

“What? No,” protests Madara. “I’m fine. It just feels so sudden.”

Tobirama shakes his head at him. “You’ve had nine months to get used to the idea. Now, help me get into the bed.”

Madara snaps out of his daze and helps his mate lie down. Tobirama also reluctantly lets him take his pants and underwear off as well. It’s going to be embarrassing for the healer to see him unclothed, but the baby can’t phase through fabric. For now though, he keeps part of the sheet draped across his lap.

Tobirama wraps an arm around his stomach as another spasm of pain ripples throughout his body. He can see his mate’s concerned eyes but ignores him, concentrating on trying to stay relaxed. The clan’s healer, Yuuna arrives soon after, Hashirama trailing in behind her.

Giving birth was….unpleasant. That was the nicest way he could describe it. Unpleasant. It was messy, uncomfortable, and painful; although, thankfully, Yuuna did know a medical jutsu that was able to dull some of the pain.

Tobirama didn’t know how many hours it took for the baby to be born; there wasn’t a clock in the room, and he was too busy giving birth to keep track of the time anyway. What he did know was that it was dark outside by the time the baby was born, he was exhausted, and his baby girl was the tiniest baby he’s ever seen.

“She’s so small,” says Madara, echoing Tobirama’s thoughts.

“She’s actually a normal weight for newborns, a perfectly healthy baby girl. Congratulations,” replies Yuuna.

After cleaning the baby, Yuuna hands her over to Tobirama, who stares at the baby with a sense of awe as he holds her for the first time. “Amaya,” says Tobirama softly. “Amaya Senju-Uchiha.”

Yuuna glances over at Madara when he doesn’t protest. “You don’t mind the Senju name coming first?”

Madara shrugs. “He’s the one who gave birth to her and grew her in his uterus for nine whole months. I think he has the right to have his name first, don’t you?”

Yuuna chuckles. “Well, that’s a good attitude to have. I think it says good things about the future of your relationship that you have an open mind. The more traditional alphas seem to think it’s an insult if their mate and child don’t take their name.”

“If he hadn’t had an open mind, we wouldn’t have gotten together, seeing as how I used to be an alpha. Not everyone would have been comfortable with that,” says Tobirama.

“Also,” continues Tobirama, stifling a yawn. “I think one of you should take her before I fall asleep.”

Seeing how exhausted his mate looks, Madara quickly goes over to bed and gently picks up his daughter. And just a few minutes later, Tobirama is fast asleep. Luckily, the baby seems just as tired, allowing Tobirama to rest in peace for a while.

* * *

 

A few hours later, Tobirama is abruptly woken up by the loud wailings of a hungry infant. He sits up, noticing his mate sitting in the chair by the crib, holding their daughter. Seeing that Tobirama has woken up, Madara stands up and plops down next to his omega on the bed.

“I think she’s hungry,” says Madara.

Tobirama nods sleepily, removing his shirt and picking the baby up. He cradles Amaya against his chest, helping her find his nipple. “This feels kind of weird,” says Tobirama as the baby begins to suckle.

“Is it uncomfortable?” asks Madara.

“A little bit, but it doesn’t hurt,” replies Tobirama.

“And are you in pain anywhere else?” asks Madara.

Tobirama shifts on the bed. “I’m a bit sore, but the healer knows what she’s doing. I don’t know how civilians deal with childbirth without a medic nin.”

Madara reaches out and touches Amaya’s cheek. “Her skin is really smooth, isn’t it? I don’t know how painful childbirth is, but I imagine that after the pain is just a dull memory and they’re holding their child in their arms, then they’d consider the unpleasant experience worth it.”

Tobirama huffs out an amused breath. “It’s a bit more than unpleasant, but yes, I would consider it worth it. Especially since she’s the catalyst to ending the war between our clans. We wouldn’t have been nearly as motivated to convince our clans if I hadn’t gotten pregnant.”

Madara’s expression turns contemplative. “I wonder: if this hadn’t happened, would our clans have ever made peace?”

Tobirama shrugs, glancing down at Amaya when he feels her stop drinking. The baby stares back at him with blue eyes, the same color that almost all newborns seem to have. It’ll be interesting to see whose eye color she inherited. “They might have, but I don’t see the point in wondering. We can’t change the past and our present is one that doesn’t need adjusting. You and Hashirama’s dream village is being built and we have a beautiful baby girl. Right now, I’m actually at a point in my life where I can think about the future with a positive attitude, instead of contemplating all the things that can go wrong.”

“The drawbacks of being a realist?” asks Madara. “I’m glad that you’re enjoying life, Tobirama. With any luck, the universe will allow our happiness to last for several more years.”

“Just several years? Not the rest of our lives?” asks Tobirama.

Madara’s lips quirk up in amusement. “I don’t think the universe is quite that kind. Besides, life would get kind of boring if nothing ever happened.”

“I suppose it would, but I do hope we never have to deal with another war. I don’t expect the village to not ever be attacked, but a full on war would cause an unnecessary loss of life,” says Tobirama.

Madara’s eyes flicker down to Amaya, watching her peacefully sleeping face. He’s only known her for a day but he already knows that losing her would be unbearably painful. As would losing Tobirama. He’s not sure if what he feels for the Senju is love yet, but he cares for him a great deal.

“Whatever happens, we’ll deal with it together,” says Madara. “And we’ll keep her safe.”

“And any other children we have together as well,” replies Tobirama, smiling.

Madara smiles back, pleased that the experience of giving birth hasn’t made Tobirama swear off having any other children. Though the act of actually raising the kid might make him change his mind. Children are a lot of work, but he’s sure their siblings can be convinced to babysit when they need a break.

Madara sees Tobirama yawn and realizes that his mate is still tired from giving birth earlier. He reaches out and picks up Amaya, and receiving no complaints from his mate, he gets up to set her down in the crib. He moves slowly to avoid waking her up and wraps the blankets around her to keep her warm, lying her on her side in case she randomly throws up in the middle of the night.

Madara then removes his shirt and sets it on the dresser before climbing back into bed with Tobirama. He wraps an arm around his mate, humming in contentment at the feeling of warm skin brushing against his own. He pulls the blanket up to cover them, pressing a chaste kiss to Tobirama’s lips. The two of them relax against each other, not saying anything as they don’t want to wake up Amaya, and eventually fall asleep wrapped up in each other’s arms.

And, naturally, they wake up a few hours later to the sounds of a screaming infant. “Why are babies so loud?” complains a half-asleep Tobirama, slowly getting up from the bed. He walks over to the crib and scoops the baby up into his arms.

And then he stares blankly at her for a moment, wondering what he’s supposed to do now. Is she hungry? Cold? Too warm? Needs a diaper change? Lonely? “How do people do this?”

“Try checking her diaper first,” suggests Madara. “Does she need a change?”

Tobirama checks and confirms that that does indeed seem to be the problem. He lays out one of her blankets on the floor and does his best to give Amaya her first diaper change. He’s suddenly grateful that they didn’t have a boy, remembering some of the stories the other parents have told him about being peed on.

The baby seems much more content after that, but she also, unfortunately, looks wide awake. Tobirama doesn’t think they’re getting back to sleep for a while. Well, not unless they take turns watching her, which he’s sure is something that’s going to happen at some point.

Tobirama grabs the bag of baby toys from underneath the crib and heads to the living room, Madara following after him. They sit on the couch for a while, Tobirama and Madara taking turns holding the baby and speaking quietly to her. Right now, they’re just trying to get Amaya used to the sound of their voice. It’s actually kind of cute the way Amaya stares at everything, and she seems particularly fascinated by the rattle he waves in front of her face.

Eventually, though, the baby begins to cry again. Being a bit more awake this time, Tobirama reacts more calmly as he tries to figure out what’s wrong. His first guess is that Amaya is hungry, which proves to be correct as she immediately begins to feed when he holds her up to his nipple.

She seems much happier after being fed and goes back to curiously looking around. Tobirama knows that she can’t see very far yet, so he makes sure to hold her close to his face, wanting her to learn what he looks like. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Madara lean closer, watching their daughter watch them.

“It still seems a bit surreal, being mated to you, a Senju, and having a child together,” says Madara quietly. “Even when I was an optimistic child, such a thing never entered my mind.”

“Sometimes life turns out worse than you expected and sometimes it’s even better,” replies Tobirama. “This is not how I thought my life would turn out, but I don’t have any regrets.”

Madara scoots closer Tobirama, reaching out to run his fingers through Tobirama’s hair, pressing their lips together into a soft, affectionate kiss. Amaya watches them silently, not yet able to understand what they’re doing but fascinated by it all the same. Tobirama would prefer to stay in this moment a while longer, but his stomach has begun to insist that it needs food.

“I’m hungry,” says Tobirama.

“So am I. I’ll make breakfast, or I suppose it’d actually be lunch now,” replies Madara, glancing at the clock. He hops up from the couch and heads to the kitchen, cooking them something simple.

While Madara is in the kitchen, Tobirama gets a few small pillows from the bedroom and arranges them on the couch, making it so that Amaya is lying next to him, the pillows acting as a buffer so that she can’t accidently roll off. They don’t talk much during their meal, both of them comfortable with the occasional moment of silence. He reaches out a few times in between eating to touch Amaya’s cheek, making sure that the baby knows that they’re still here. And perhaps the gesture is for himself as well, to reassure himself that the baby is still safe and happy. He has a feeling that he’s going to be one of those overprotective parents.

The next few weeks follow a similar pattern. The baby doesn’t sleep for more than a few hours at a time, waking them up to be fed, changed, or cuddled. The two of them take turns cooking, while the other one watches Amaya. The fourth week after the baby has been born, Hashirama comes by to help them pack up the rest the house, having moved his own items a few days ago. Tobirama discovers that moving is almost easy when you can fit everything into sealing scrolls.

Their new house is one story and has three bedrooms; one for Madara and Tobirama to share, one for Amaya when she’s old enough to have a room to herself, and the third bedroom is in case they have another child in the future. The other houses on this street have the same number of bedrooms; Tobirama believes Hashirama intends this to be an area of the village where families live.

Once they’ve reached the house, they have to figure out where to put their possessions. They don’t have to worry about having duplicate furniture as anything extra went to either Hashirama or Izuna. Izuna got the dining room table from his and Madara’s house while Hashirama let Tobirama have the table from their house, simply creating a table for his own house using the Mokuton.

Tobirama has a painting of the ocean that he hangs in their bedroom while Madara puts up his own painting of an autumn forest in the living room. Amaya looks around curiously at their new surroundings, and Tobirama quietly describes their new house to her. He can see Madara watching them with an amused smile and privately agrees; it does seem a bit silly to talk to Amaya like she can understand him but it’s the only way she’ll learn. If he uses ‘baby talk’ then it’ll take her longer to learn how to talk normally.

At the end of the day, both of them collapse onto the couch, tired from sorting through all their stuff. Their exhaustion is more mental than physical as the storage scrolls make it easy for them to carry things from room to room. As neither one of them feels like cooking, they eat a simple meal of sliced vegetables and fruit.

Tobirama sets a mat down on the living room floor for Amaya and, for now, the baby seems content to lie there and look at the stuffed animals he’s set down next to her. “It’s a nice house,” comments Tobirama.

Madara smiles. “I’m glad you like it. Would you like to take a walk around the village tomorrow?”

“Sure. It’ll be nice to see how the village is coming along,” replies Tobirama.

“We’ve already started to move some civilians in. One of them worked out a deal with the farmers and opened up a grocery store, so we won’t have to worry about Konoha running out of food. And another civilian has opened up a clothing and fabric store,” says Madara.

“What about a book store?” asks Tobirama.

“Not yet, unfortunately. But we have new people moving into Konoha every week, so it shouldn’t be too much longer before new stores open up,” replies Madara.

The baby starts fussing soon after they’re done eating. Tobirama scoops her up and gently rocks her, talking quietly until she calms down. She’s already eaten recently, so he thinks she was just getting lonely. It’s getting late, and he hopes she gets tired soon so that they can sleep as well. He tries walking the floor with her, singing a soft lullaby until she’s blinking sleepily at him, her breathing slowly deepening as she falls asleep.

Tobirama is careful as he lowers her down into the crib, moving slowly so as not to wake her. He quietly makes his way over to the bed, being joined a moment later by Madara. They undress silently and craw into the bed, cuddling up next to each other.

When they were younger, their parents had taught them different meditation exercises to help them relax quickly into sleep. Everyone in their two clans had learned it. Ninjas needed to be able to fall asleep quickly, as you never know when you’re going to go into battle. Fighting on little sleep was a good way to get killed, so most ninja clans taught their kids meditation at a young age. Thus, it didn’t take them very long to fall asleep, which would come in handy with their daughter’s erratic sleep cycle.

* * *

 

After they’ve eaten breakfast the next morning, Tobirama gets out the baby sling and places Amaya in it, which allows him to hold her against his chest without using his hands. The village is quiet this time of day, people just waking up and starting to head to work. Madara shows him around the village, leading him to the street that holds the grocery and clothing store.

“This is going to be the business district,” explains Madara. “As you can see, we’ve already got a few more buildings ready for the civilians to open up a shop.”

“So far, you’ve only mentioned civilians. Has Hashirama had any luck in convincing the ninja clans to move to Konoha?” asks Tobirama.

“No one has outright said, ‘yes,’ but some of them are considering it. I think the first ones to agree will probably be the Inuzuka clan. They like the idea that we’re bringing more people together, creating a large ‘pack’ that will protect each other,” replies Madara.

“And which clan do think will agree after them?” asks Tobirama.

“Possibly the Nara clan. They’re intelligent and can recognize that living in Konoha, allied to other ninja clans, will be safer than fighting on their own. And of course, where the Nara clan goes, so too goes the Akimichi and Yamanaka clan,” says Madara.

They’re interrupted from their conversation when a little girl, looking to be about eight years old, walks over to them. “It’s a baby!” says the girl, grinning.

The girl’s mother notices that her daughter has wandered off and sighs, walking closer. “Amelia,” scolds the mother. “You can’t just walk up to strangers. You don’t know if it’s safe.”

“But I wanted to see the baby,” argues Amelia.

Tobirama glances over to Madara, who has a slight smile on his face. Mentally shrugging, Tobirama crouches down in front of Amelia, allowing the little girl a better look at Amaya. Amelia reaches a hand out and gently touches Amaya’s cheek.

“What’s the baby’s name?” asks Amelia.

“Her name is Amaya,” says Tobirama.

“She’s pretty,” says Amelia.

Tobirama smiles. “Yes, she is.”

Amelia turns to her mother. “Mommy, I want a little brother or sister.”

The mother laughs. “I’ll talk to your father about it later. Why don’t you say good-bye to the nice gentlemen now so we aren’t late?”

“Bye misters,” says Amelia, giving a little wave before leaving with her mother.

Madara turns to look at Tobirama. “Well, that was interesting. Do you think Amaya is going to do that one day, just walk up to random strangers?”

“I hope not,” sighs Tobirama. “We wouldn’t have at that age. Hopefully, we’ll be able to teach her caution around people she doesn’t know.”

Tobirama glances down at the baby, who stares up at him curiously. “You’re not going be that silly, are you, Amaya?” Of course, the baby doesn’t answer him, but he likes talking to her. And even though the sling keeps her from falling, he wraps his arm around her. The sling is useful when he needs to use his hands, but actually holding her makes him feel closer to her.

Since they don’t need to buy anything at the moment, they pass by the stores without going inside, instead heading to one of the village’s parks. There are a few families already there, their children running through the grass. Amaya starts to cry after a few minutes, so they sit at one of the park benches and attempt to figure out what she needs.

As it’s been a few hours since she’s eaten, they correctly guess that she’s hungry. No one bats an eyelash at Tobirama breast feeding in public. He’s heard that there are parts of the world where people think breast feeding should be done in private, but no one in Fire Country seem to be bothered by it. People do, however, give them a wide berth as he changes her diaper.

Tobirama hesitates when Madara asks to carry Amaya for a while, then reluctantly hands her over. It isn’t that he doesn’t trust Madara; on the contrary, he trusts his mate very much. It’s just his omega instincts causing him to act this way. Omegas tend to be overly protective of their children for the first few months after they’re born.

His instincts will eventually settle down and not make him so twitchy when even people he trusts come near Amaya. And he supposes it’s a good thing that his parental instincts make it so that he doesn’t see little children as a threat, or else he might not have reacted so calmly to Amelia approaching them.

Madara doesn’t seem upset by his overprotectiveness, giving him an understanding smile as they begin walking again. It’s nearing lunch time now, so they begin to make their way back to the house. But when they pass by Hashirama’s house, the older Senju brother sticks his head out the door and invites them in for lunch.

Not having any reason not to, they accept his invitation. Madara is a bit surprised to see that Hashirama has already made enough food for the three of them. Seeing his surprised look, Hashirama explains.

“I saw you guys leaving earlier and thought it would be nice for us to eat lunch together when you got back.” As they begin eating, Hashirama asks, “What did you think of the village, Tobirama?”

“It looks nice so far. I can sense your chakra in about half of the buildings. You’ve done good work,” says Tobirama.

Hashirama grins at the compliment, happy that Tobirama has noticed how hard he’s worked to build Konoha. Glancing at Amaya, he asks, “And how have you two been with the baby?”

“It’s tiring,” replies Madara, “but rewarding. We’re both happy to have her, but she likes to wake us up.”

“A lot. She wakes us up a lot. But that’s normal with babies,” says Tobirama. “It’s probably a good thing we’re not working right now. Sleep deprivation would make completing missions rather difficult.”

“That bad, huh?” asks Hashirama, making a sympathetic face. “If you ever need me to babysit for a while, just let me know.”

“We may take you up on that soon,” says Tobirama. “But not yet. My instincts still make me nervous if I’m away from Amaya for more than a couple hours.”

Hashirama nods his head in understanding. “You’ve gotten better at letting someone else hold her, though,” says Hashirama, noticing that Amaya is in Madara’s arms at the moment.

“Well, he is my mate. The instinctive trust I feel towards him made it easier to trust him with Amaya,” explains Tobirama. “It was actually kind of weird in the beginning. My instinct to trust him warred with the overprotective parental instinct.”

“It was like half of his brain knew he could trust me, and the other half was just suspicious of everyone,” says Madara.

“Huh. I suppose when I have a mate and child of my own, I’ll have a better understanding of what you’re talking about,” says Hashirama.

“Are you planning on settling down anytime soon?” asks Madara curiously.

Hashirama shrugs. “I don’t know. The clan elders want me to have an heir as soon as possible, but I want to marry for love, not politics.”

“Well, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to meet new people as they move into the village,” says Tobirama. “Though, I would suggest that if it’s at all possible, you fall in love with a ninja. It’s highly likely that as the strongest person in the village, any future enemies of Konoha will send assassins to kill you or your family. If your mate is a ninja, then they’ll be able to protect themselves and your children if an enemy attacks while you’re not around.”

Hashirama sighs, looking a bit sad. “So anyone I fall in love with will be in danger just from being with me.”

“Well, yes, but that doesn’t mean you should give up on love,” says Tobirama. “Life itself is dangerous, especially for ninja. Trying to stay away from someone to protect them won’t actually protect them, since some random act of life could kill them. An enemy nin if they’re a ninja or some kind of accident in their workplace if they’re a civilian.”

Hashirama looks exasperated. “That doesn’t actually make me feel better.”

“It’s not supposed to,” says Madara bluntly. “Acknowledge the dangers of life and you’ll be better prepared for them. But if you want a strong mate, you could try visiting the Land of Whirlpools. They have a small ninja village there, and I hear they train their omegas just as well as the alphas and betas. Not all of the ninja clans invited to Konoha were like our clans, willing to train the omegas because we needed as many soldiers as possible.”

Tobirama huffs in annoyance. “Perhaps they’ll see from our example that the omegas are just as capable as the alphas.”

Hashirama and Madara exchange an amused look. “Sometimes, it’s almost like you were born an omega, with the way you act,” says Madara.

“You mean believing in omega right?” asks Tobirama, surprised. “I’ve always thought that omegas should be treated equally. There’s nothing in omega physiology that would make them inherently weaker than alphas. It never made sense to me, acting like omegas are weaker just because they have a uterus.”

“I doubt we’ll ever figure out what caused omegas to be seen as weaker. All we can do now is prove that they’re wrong,” says Madara.

“I was thinking that we should continue the play dates between our clans’ children,” says Hashirama. “We could make it a village tradition and invite the other clans’ children when they move to the village. Since the Uchiha and Senju children believe that omegas are equal, their attitude might rub off onto the other clans’ children.”

“Peer pressure,” says Tobirama with an amused smile. “We should let the children know about our plan. If they know the adults think omegas are equal, they’ll be less likely to be swayed by the opinions of the other clans’ children. Because peer pressure goes both ways.”

After everyone is in agreement with Hashirama’s plan, the conversation turns to something more pleasant: Tobirama’s plan for his and Madara’s backyard garden.

“I was thinking a couple of fruit trees, maybe apples and plums. I want to grow green beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, spinach, and some herbs,” says Tobirama.

“I think I’d like to grow a garden as well,” says Hashirama. “And we could grow different things and grow extra. That way, we can trade the extra food with each other.”

“Alright,” agrees Tobirama. “What were you thinking of growing?”

“Carrots, potatoes, and beets for sure,” replies Hashirama. “Maybe some eggplants and cauliflower as well.”

“One of us should grow bell peppers and jalapeños,” suggests Madara. “They taste good in a variety of dishes.”

“Okay, I’ll add that to my list,” says Hashirama.

“And I think I’ll grow some orange trees as well,” says Tobirama.

“Do the two of you have a lot of gardening experience?” asks Madara.

Tobirama nods. “Our mother was one of the people who helped grow the clan’s food. Sometimes, we helped her when we were younger.”

“She taught us a lot about gardening,” says Hashirama.

“Okay, because I have very little knowledge about gardening,” says Madara.

“Then you can learn by watching us,” says Hashirama. “Do you think your brother would want to learn as well?”

Madara shrugs. “Maybe? I’ll ask him the next time I see him. If we had his yard as well, we could grow a lot more. I suppose it’ll depend on if he has any other plans for his yard.”

Their conversation is interrupted by the sounds of an unhappy infant.

“Is she alright?” asks Hashirama, giving Amaya a concerned glance.

“She’s fine,” replies Tobirama. “She’s either tired or wants attention.”

“We should get her home so she can sleep,” says Madara.

They say their goodbye’s to Hashirama and head home. Madara walks the hallway with Amaya, talking to her quietly and humming a soft tune. Amaya eventually stops crying, soothed by the sound of his voice. She lets out a tiny yawn and blinks up at him sleepily.

When Madara is certain that she’s deep asleep, he carefully sets her down in her crib and then goes to join his mate in the living room. He finds Tobirama sitting on the couch, reading a book. Madara grabs a novel from the bookshelf and sits down next to Tobirama, and the two of them peacefully read for a while, their shoulders gently pressed together.


	10. Chapter Ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Kisari, thedeadbeat9618, and monochromicharlequinn8 for your suggestions. It helped me write this chapter.

Tobirama glances up when he hears a knock on the front door. He’s surprised to sense Izuna’s chakra as well as one of the Uchiha Elders.

“Were you expecting someone?” he asks Madara.

Madara frowns at the door. “No, I wasn’t. What does Elder Mitsue want now?”

Since Tobirama is busy breast feeding Amaya, Madara gets up to answer the door. Elder Mitsue doesn’t even wait for an ‘hello’ before barging into the house, an exasperated Izuna following him inside.

“He insisted on talking to you,” explains Izuna. “He doesn’t seem to like how much of the Clan Head responsibilities I’ve taken on.”

“What?” asks Madara, surprised.

“It’s been four months,” exclaims Mitsue. “four months since your omega gave birth and you’re still at home playing house instead of doing your duties as Clan Head.”

“Playing house,” repeats Madara. “You mean helping my mate take care of our infant child?”

Mitsue huffs. “What does he need help for? All babies need is food and diaper changes. Like that’s difficult?”

Tobirama stares at him incredulously.

“Elder Mitsue has never had children of his own,” explains Madara.

Madara and Mitsue begin to argue then about responsibility and duty. Their loud voices begin to disturb Amaya, who stops feeding and begins to cry. Tobirama starts to gently rock her but she’s suddenly snatched out of his arms.

“Look, I’ll show you how easy it is,” says Mitsue, holding the baby against his shoulder and awkwardly patting her back.

Tobirama stands frozen, his arms outstretched like he’s holding an invisible baby. _‘He took my baby_ ,’ thinks Tobirama in disbelief and then with anger, _‘Hetookherhetookher **hetookher**.’ _ His next thoughts consist of ‘ _killhimkillhim **killhim**.’ _ Gradually the air begins to fill with his distressed scent.

Mitsue pauses, staring at Tobirama warily. He jumps in surprise as the baby suddenly throws up on his shirt. “She threw up on me!” he says, startled.

“Yes, they do that,” replies Madara, rolling his eyes. He takes Amaya from Mitsue and hands her off to Tobirama, who immediately calms down. Madara sighs as the elder continues to complain about his ruined shirt.

“Guess babies aren’t as easy to take care of as you thought they were, hmm?” asks Madara, causing the elder to snap his mouth shut. “Look, I don’t know why you’re so unhappy. Izuna and I have always shared the responsibilities of Clan Head, and he’s more than capable of handling it by himself. However, I will be taking on some of the responsibilities again when Amaya is a few months older. So, stop complaining, go home, and get cleaned up.”

Mitsue grumbles a little longer before reluctantly leaving, not because he thinks Madara is right but because he wants to change his shirt. Everyone gives a sigh of relief as he leaves. Madara turns his head and blinks at the sight of Tobirama in the corner of the room, glaring at the door. His mate is holding Amaya in one hand and a kunai in the other. He knows the moment Izuna sees what Tobirama is doing because his little brother begins to laugh.

Tobirama pouts. “It’s not funny,” he protests. “He took Amaya from me, just grabbed her right out of my hands. Who does that?”

“Stupid people,” replies Izuna, grinning.

Tobirama relaxes as Izuna stops laughing and essentially agrees with him that Mitsue was in the wrong. “Stupid and arrogant people,” he adds. “The next time you see Elder Mitsue, please inform him that he is not welcome at my house anymore. If he barges into here again, he’s getting a kunai to the groin.”

Izuna’s eyes widen, surprised laughter escaping his mouth. “I’ll let him know,” he promises, tone amused. “And I think I’ll take my leave now, if there’s nothing you need?”

Madara and Tobirama don’t need anything, saying they’ll see Izuna later as he leaves the house. As soon as Izuna is gone, Madara can see Tobirama frown, no longer having to pretend he’s fine now that they’re alone. Madara ushers Tobirama into the bedroom and has them sit down on the bed facing each other. He pulls Tobirama close, being careful not to squish the baby. Placing his hand on the back of Tobirama’s head, he pushes Tobirama’s face into his neck, letting out a soothing purr.

Tobirama calms down as his mate’s scent fills his every breath, instinctively purring back. He hears Amaya giggle at the sound and smiles. His breathe hitches as he feels Madara’s lips brush across the mating mark on his neck. He shakes his head and leans back.

“Don’t do that around Amaya,” says Tobirama. “Or around anyone else, for that matter. It makes me want to have sex.”

Madara smirks. “Perhaps we should get a babysitter tomorrow then. I would suggest today but I doubt you want Amaya out of your sight after what Mitsue did.”

An indecisive, slightly frustrated look crosses Tobirama’s face. “As much as I’d like to be intimate with you right now, I don’t think my instincts could handle being away from Amaya so soon.”

Madara nods in understanding. “That’s fine. I can wait.”

Tobirama gives Madara a brief peck on the lips before getting up from the bed. He’s feeling calmer now and there’s still a few things he wants to do before taking his afternoon nap with Amaya. First, he hands Amaya over to Madara for a moment while he creates a shadow clone. He had created a clone while holding her once and would not be repeating that mistake again.

It wasn’t possible to create a clone _for_ someone, not yet anyways. And he hadn’t accidently created a second clone henged into her, either. He had cloned her the way you cloned your clothing or weapons. What his clone had ended up holding looked a bit like an Amaya doll, her body and face frozen in the position it had been in when he created the clone. It had almost been unnerving enough to give him nightmares.

Tobirama’s clone leaves the room to go check on the garden. It had been a few months since they had planted it, and the green bean and cucumber plants were starting to produce. Hashirama’s earth-type chakra had come in handy for the garden, using an earth jutsu to till the soil. It had saved them a lot of time and made gardening almost easy.

“Do you want me to take care of lunch today or do the dishes?” asks Madara.

Tobirama thinks about it for a moment and decides, “I’ll cook.”

Leaving Amaya with Madara, Tobirama heads into the kitchen to prepare them something to eat. As he’s setting food on the table, his clone dispels. “A few more days and we’ll have something to eat from the garden,” he says to Madara.

“That’s good. Freshly picked foods always taste the best,” replies Madara.

Madara sets Amaya down on a mat on the floor, scooting her toys closer to her so that she can play while they eat. He sits down at the table across from Tobirama and begins to eat. “It tastes good,” comments Madara truthfully, though he probably would have said so even if it wasn’t just to see that pleased smile Tobirama gives him.

“Thank you,” replies Tobirama. “My mother was the one who taught me how to cook. I enjoyed helping her in the kitchen when I was a child.”

“Your parents had the traditional roles, then?” asks Madara. “Your mother taught you gardening and cooking while your father taught you how to hunt and fight?”

“Yes, for the most part. But my mother did know how to fight as well,” says Tobirama. “I think she actually chose to be a housewife and farmer over fighting on the battlefield. She had a strong will, but wasn’t a violent person.”

“You’re not a violent person, either,” observes Madara.

Tobirama takes a bite of food to delay answering. “I hate hurting people,” he admits. “Killing someone for the sake of killing them is ridiculous. However, I have gotten used to fighting and enjoy sparring.”

Madara is quiet for a few minutes after Tobirama speaks. “I don’t think killing bothers me as much as it does you. I used to hate it, but I guess I got used to it. Desensitized. I hated the feeling of helplessness as a child, unable to keep my brothers safe. Now, when I fight, I feel powerful and in control. The feeling of power is almost addictive after a childhood of being too weak to make a difference.”

Tobirama stops eating to give Madara his full attention. He can tell that his mate is almost ashamed of his love of fighting. “It doesn’t make you a bad person, if that’s something you’re worried about,” says Tobirama. “You can be very kind and loving to those you care about. You don’t believe in animal cruelty or child abuse. After what you went through, it’s normal to like something that makes you feel in control. And in our line of work, it’s likely that killing will be a necessity at some point; it’s a good thing for you not to be traumatized by it.”

Madara gives him a slight smile. “I guess.”

“And you don’t _have_ to kill to get that feeling of power. You’re one of the strongest shinobi in Fire Country. Most of the people you spar with will lose to you. You could spar with ninja from the village, perhaps multiple opponents at once to make your victory feel even better?” suggests Tobirama.

Madara nods his head, looking contemplative. “Yes, that should work.”

“You could also get that feeling of power from being dominant in the bedroom, couldn’t you?” asks Tobirama.

A startled look appears in Madara’s eyes. “What?”

Tobirama smiles in amusement. “Being dominant during sex….with me, of course. I don’t mind taking a submissive role, sometimes. I think it’s a healthy way of feeling in control, don’t you?”

“I hadn’t thought about it that way before, but I suppose it is. I know what I get out of being dominant, but what do you like about the submissive role?” asks Madara.

“It can be relaxing to let someone else take the lead for a while,” replies Tobirama. “If you trust them, anyways, and I do trust you.”

“Not just because of the bond?” asks Madara.

“The bond helped me trust you in the beginning, but I trust you now because I know you,” says Tobirama.

Tobirama glances over to the living room as he hears Amaya begin to make unhappy noises. He gets up from the table and picks her up, sitting back down at the table to finish eating one handed. Apparently content to be held, Amaya stays silent long enough for them to finish their food.

Afterwards, Madara washes the dishes while Tobirama sits down on the floor with Amaya. He touches her cheek, smiling when she reaches up and grabs his finger. He playfully sticks his tongue out at her, amused when she imitates him. He makes a silly face to hear her giggle, glancing up as he hears Madara laugh as well. Turning back to her, he says, “Do you hear that, Amaya? Your papa thinks we’re funny.”

Madara sits down next to them and picks up Amaya’s rattle, the noise making Amaya look up at him curiously. He gently shakes it in front of her face, causing her to reach out and grab it. He lets her take it from his hand, lips twitching in amusement as she tries to eat her toy. “Is she even hungry or do babies just like to bite things?” he wonders.

“Well, she’s not crying, so I guess she just likes biting,” says Tobirama. “At least she’s not teething. I hear they cry _and_ bite then.”

Madara grimaces at the thought. “They make teething rings for that, right?”

“Yeah. You put them in the fridge when she’s not using them because the cold helps soothe her gums,” says Tobirama.

“Aaa,” says Amaya. “Aa ba.”

Tobirama blinks down at his daughter as she begins to babble, apparently wanting their attention back on her. He brushes his finger over the bottom of her foot, causing her to giggle at the ticklish sensation. Smiling, Tobirama picks her up and cradles her close to his chest, rubbing his cheek against the top of her head.

“Did you turn into a cat?” asks Madara fondly.

“Amaya is cuter than a kitten,” replies Tobirama seriously.

“What?” Madara gives his mate a bemused look.

“I never thought babies were that cute. They all looked the same to me. And then I had Amaya and she’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. Apparently, parental instincts can change your perception of beauty,” explains Tobirama.

“Yes, I have noticed how every parent seems to think their baby is the most adorable baby in the world,” says Madara. “…..They’re all wrong, though. Amaya is the most adorable.”

Tobirama’s shoulders shake as he laughs. Amaya, too, begins to giggle, not knowing what’s so funny but happy that her dad is having a good time. Madara smiles at them, pleased that he was able to make his mate and child happy. Madara reaches out and gently runs his fingers over Amaya’s head, a thin layer of black hair covering her scalp.

“She’s going to be gorgeous when she grows up, with us as her parents. We’ll have to fight the alphas off with a stick,” says Madara.

“Or a water jutsu,” replies Tobirama. “But only if she doesn’t like the alpha. I don’t want us to accidently be so overprotective that we stifle her.”

“Yeah, alright. But if the alpha hurts her, I reserve the right to kick him halfway across the country,” says Madara.

“Fair enough.” Tobirama wasn’t sure what to think about the fact that Amaya was an omega. A part of him had hoped that his child would be born an alpha so that she wouldn’t have to deal with society’s prejudice. But Tobirama himself didn’t have anything against any of the secondary genders and would support Amaya in whatever path in life she chose for herself, even if what she chose to do was something society considered weird for omegas, like being a ninja or any other physical labor job.

Tobirama glances down as Amaya begins to yawn. “I guess it’s time for her afternoon nap.” Standing up, Tobirama begins to hum a lullaby for Amaya, gently rocking her in his arms. Before too long, his daughter is fast asleep and he carefully sets her down in her crib.

At night, Amaya sleeps for about six hours now and he knows it won’t be too much longer before she’s able to sleep the entire night. For now, though, he was woken up early in the morning and needs a nap of his own. Lying down on the bed, he relaxes into sleep. Unfortunately, it is not a peaceful sleep, his unconscious mind plagued by nightmares.

He must have made some sort of noise because he feels Madara’s hands on his shoulders, gently shaking him awake. He stares up at the ceiling, his heart beating erratically from his panicked emotions. He’s snapped out of his thoughts by his mate’s calming voice.

“Tobirama, are you alright?”

Tobirama sits up, noticing that Madara is holding a disgruntled looking Amaya. Had he woken her up? Wordlessly, he holds his arms out, sighing in relief as Madara hands her over. He holds her close, breathing in her unique scent. He lets her grab his finger, relieved when the unhappy look leaves her face.

Tobirama glances over to Madara, grateful that his alpha is waiting patiently, not demanding answers. “I had a nightmare that Amaya was taken from me.”

He sees Madara’s muscles tense, an aggressive and yet protective scent suddenly being created by his alpha. “This is Mitsue’s fault,” states Madara, flatly. “He shouldn’t have grabbed her from you. I may need to have a talk with him later.”

Tobirama lets out a slight laugh. “Only if you mean talk in the literal sense. He didn’t actually harm her, so physical violence would be an overreaction. However, he does need to understand that his behavior was unacceptable.”

Madara frowns but reluctantly nods. “Fine, I won’t attack him. But he is getting lectured, in front of the entire clan as well. Public humiliation ought to be a good learning tool.”

“You really don’t like him, huh?” asks Tobirama.

“Mitsue is very….old fashioned. He believes that an omega’s place is in the home, with the children. He’s a very aggravating man,” replies Madara.

“Hmm. We need to find a way to show people that omegas are just as strong as alphas,” says Tobirama.

“I’ve been thinking about that, actually. Why not have a physical demonstration?” asks Madara.

Tobirama blinks in surprise. “Physical demonstration? Do you mean sparring?”

“Yes. We can have omegas from our two clans spar with some of the alphas from the other ninja clans that have just started moving in to the village. That way more than just Mitsue will learn how strong omegas are,” says Madara.

Tobirama nods his head slowly, considering it. “And even if some of the omegas lose, they should make it difficult enough for the alphas to win that they won’t be considered weak.”

“You’ll win, though,” states Madara, confident of his mate’s skills. “At least, that should make Mitsue realize he shouldn’t mess with you.”

“Mmmhmm. I wonder how many of the other clans know that I used to be an alpha,” says Tobirama.

“I suppose some of them will know,” says Madara, puzzled by how it’s relevant.

Seeing Madara’s confusion, Tobirama explains. “It’s possible that some people will try to argue that I’m only as strong as I am because I was born an alpha.”

Madara sighs, knowing Tobirama is right. “People are idiots. Physically, you’re an omega right now, not an alpha. The only reason being born an alpha could make a difference is because you were _raised_ to be an alpha. But everyone who thinks omegas are weaker think it’s because of biology, not how we’re raised.”

“So they’d be hypocrites to act like I’m only stronger because of how I was born and not what my current biology is,” replies Tobirama.

“Exactly,” says Madara firmly. “So what do you think of the idea?”

“It could work. Were you thinking it would just be individual fights or some kind of tournament with a winner?” asks Tobirama.

“Hmm. A tournament would be most effective if an omega was the one to win,” says Madara thoughtfully.

“Will there be a prize for the winner?” asks Tobirama.

“That would encourage people to enter. But what kind of prize can we offer? We can’t afford anything expensive,” says Madara.

“Well, if Hashirama is willing, he could make something using his Mokuton. Any of the furniture he makes is a lot stronger than what others make by hand, and I’m fairly certain it’ll last for hundreds of years,” says Tobirama.

“Which would make it something that could be passed down through the generations. Kind of like an heirloom. We can ask him if he’d be interested in creating something for the tournament when we see him tomorrow,” replies Madara.

Their conversation is interrupted as Amaya begins to cry. By now, Tobirama is able to recognize this as Amaya’s hungry cry and brings her up to his chest. He’s surprised to see something resembling a pout on Madara’s face as he watches their daughter feed.

“What is it?” he asks.

“I’m a bit jealous,” admits Madara. “I want to be the one sucking on your nipples.”

Tobirama flushes. “Well, if we can get one of our siblings to watch Amaya tomorrow, then you can suck on my nipples as much as you want then.”

Madara smirks. “I’ll hold you to that.”

* * *

The next day, they go over to Hashirama’s house after breakfast. Tobirama is aware of his brother’s schedule and knows that Hashirama isn’t very busy today. And since Hashirama is so fond of Amaya, he doesn’t think his brother will mind watching her for a few hours.

“Tobirama. Madara. Good morning,” greets Hashirama as he opens the door. “Come on in. Is this a social visit?”

“Something like that,” says Tobirama.

Hashirama listens quietly as they explain their idea for a tournament between alpha and omega. “Sure,” agrees Hashirama when they’re done talking. “I can make something for the winner, no problem. Hopefully this tournament will open the alphas’ eyes to how strong omegas can be when given proper training.”

“Thank you,” says Madara. “There’s one other thing we want to ask you, though.”

“Are you free to watch Amaya for a few hours?” asks Tobirama.

Hashirama grins. “You and Madara want some alone time then? I don’t have anything planned today. Do you have her stuff with you?”

Madara gets out a storage scroll while Tobirama hands Amaya over to Hashirama. Madara unseals Amaya’s toys, diapers, and a spare set of clothes and places them on the table.

“She’s just eaten, so she shouldn’t get hungry before we get back,” says Tobirama. “Thank you for watching her.”

“It’s no problem,” assures Hashirama. “I enjoy spending time with her, and I’m sure the two of you will return the favor when I have children of my own.”

“Speaking of, how’s your search for a mate going?” asks Madara.

“I think it’s going good. I sent a letter to Whirlpool, enquiring if any of their omega shinobi would be interested in meeting me, to determine if we would be compatible mates,” says Hashirama. “Their leader wrote me back and said a few of their omegas had agreed to meet me. Also, if I end up mating with one of them, there’s a good chance that Whirlpool will ally themselves with our village.”

Tobirama’s eyebrows raise in surprise. “That is excellent news. If you’re compatible with one of the omegas, not only will you get a new mate, the village will likely have access to Whirlpool’s knowledge of seals. It’s doubtful they’d share everything with us at first, but over time, they’ll see that we’re loyal allies and share more of their knowledge.”

“Hah. And if I don’t marry one of them, you’ll be disappointed that you don’t get to see their top secret research,” says Hashirama.

Tobirama pauses. “….maybe a little bit. But I won’t blame you for it. I don’t expect you to marry someone you can’t fall in love with just for research notes. In time, I may be able to discover some of the same things they have. And, eventually, I’ll get an apprentice or two and teach them what I know. Perhaps Konoha will someday know as much about seals as Whirlpool does.”

“Okay. Now that that’s cleared up, I imagine the two of you want to go enjoy your free time together,” says Hashirama.

Madara nods his head and grabs Tobirama’s hand, gently pulling his mate towards the door. Tobirama smiles at Madara’s impatience, giving a short wave to Hashirama. “See you later.”

Once back at their house, they immediately make their way to the bedroom, sitting down next to each other on the bed. Tobirama wraps his arms around Madara’s back as his alpha begins to suck on his neck, right over the mating bite. Sighing in pleasure, Tobirama tilts his head to the side to give Madara better access to his neck.

Tobirama moans as Madara’s teeth sink into his neck, feeling a jolt of heat in his abdomen. He slides his fingers under his mate’s shirt, running his hands up Madara’s back. A slightly irritated noise escapes him as Madara pulls back from his neck, mollified when the Uchiha’s lips find his. He opens his mouth, shivering as Madara’s tongue caresses his own.

Reluctantly, they pull their mouths away long enough to remove their shirts, tossing the garments onto the floor. Tobirama buries his fingers in Madara’s long hair as their lips meet again, lightly tugging on Madara’s hair as the other’s tongue touches the roof of his mouth. He’s not particularly fond of the ticklish sensation, though he knows Madara occasionally does it on purpose to see him twitch. However, his mate doesn’t do it often enough to be truly irritating.

Tobirama lies back down onto the bed, pulling Madara down on top of him. For a moment, he keeps his arms tightly wrapped around Madara’s shoulders to keep Madara still, enjoying the feeling of his mate draped across him. But as nice as this feels, he wants to be touched even more. He lets his arms fall to the bed, purring as Madara sits up and trails his hands over his stomach and up to his chest.

Madara smiles at the sound, brushing his thumbs over Tobirama’s nipples, inhaling deeply as his mate’s aroused scent fills the air. They haven’t had as much time for this as he’d like since the baby was born, so he intends to savor this moment and make it last. He dips his head down and sucks one of Tobirama’s nipples into his mouth, using his hand to pinch and rub the other one. A drop of milk lands on his tongue, causing him to suck harder.

Tobirama’s back arches, moaning softly at the pleasurable sensation. He grips the bedsheets, hips squirming as Madara does nothing but play with his nipples for the next several minutes. He’s glad he doesn’t have the same reaction to Amaya feeding as that would be rather awkward.

His nipples are starting to feel a little tender, but he doesn’t stop Madara yet. He likes how much his mate seems to be enjoying this, gently tugging on Madara’s hair to get him to move to the other nipple when the current one needs a break from the suction. His hips squirm, erection straining against the seam of his pants. Having his nipples played with can get him aroused, but it’s not enough for him to cum.

Tobirama tugs on Madara’s hair, but his mate just grabs his wrists and pins his hands to the bed. He moans as teeth lightly press into tender skin, not struggling against Madara’s hold. He had promised Madara that he could suck on his nipples as much he’d like, after all, and the dominant way his mate is acting is actually kind of hot.

Tobirama keeps his hands on the bed even after Madara lets go, lifting his hips as Madara slides his pants and underwear down. He licks his lips as Madara gets undressed as well, eyes roaming over his mate’s toned body. His mouth waters at the sight of Madara’s cock, a drop of precum leaking from the tip.

Madara sits down against the headboard and gestures for Tobirama to come closer. He threads his fingers through his omega’s hair and gently pushes Tobirama’s head down to his groin. Tobirama’s tongue flicks across his slit, sending a jolt of heat to his abdomen. He keeps pushing on Tobirama’s head, inhaling sharply as the other man’s mouth surrounds his cock.

Madara groans as Tobirama’s throat tightens around the head of his cock, tugging on his omega’s hair to get him to start moving. His hips squirm as his lover’s warm tongue brushes across the underside of his length, swirling around the sensitive glands. He trails his hand down Tobirama’s back, dipping his fingers down between his ass cheeks. He teasingly rubs his fingers over the omega’s wet entrance, hips twitching as Tobirama moans around his cock.

Tobirama’s muscles clench as Madara’s finger slide inside his slick entrance, wanting something larger inside him. He reaches down and gently rolls Madara’s balls between his fingers, sucking on the thick length in his mouth. His mate’s aroused scent gets stronger, filling his every breath.

Feeling a tug on his hair, Tobirama lifts his mouth up, body protesting as the fingers disappear from inside him. Madara grabs his arm and gently maneuvers him until he’s on his hands and knees facing the headboard. He rests his forearms on the bed, his ass sticking straight up. Slick drips from his entrance, slowly running down his thighs. A slight purr escapes his throat as Madara’s cock slides between his ass cheeks.

Tobirama pants for breath, clawing at the bedsheets as his alpha slowly pushes inside him. He feels pleasantly full, all the sensitive places inside him being rubbed by his lover’s thick cock. He feels Madara drape himself across his back, the other man’s teeth nibbling at his neck. A wave of affection flows through him; his lover knows just how he likes to be touched.

Tobirama relaxes against the bed, soft moans and whimpers falling from his lips as Madara begins to move inside him. His cock twitches at the wet, lewd sounds, a drop of precum leaking from the tip. He shudders as his alpha’s cock constantly brushes against his prostate, waves of pleasure flowing through his veins with every thrust of his mate’s hips.

Tobirama never wants this moment to end, intimately connected to his mate, both of them feeling pleasure. The stress of the day melts away, feeling safe and happy in his alpha’s arms. He grabs the pillow, bringing it closer so he can bite into it, muffling his moan as Madara’s fingers wrap around his cock. He loves this. He loves Madara.

Tobirama’s body jolts in surprise as he feels his bond with Madara strengthen, creating a seemingly never ending loop of pleasure between them as they begin to sense each other’s emotions. Ecstasy washes over them both, unending for several, long blissful minutes. Distantly, Tobirama can feel Madara’s knot swell inside him, locking them together, but most of his attention is focused on his mate’s emotions.

He can feel the love Madara has for him, the love that’s been growing between them over the months that they’ve been mated to each other. Tobirama lies down on his side, Madara cuddling up against his back. Tobirama purrs as his mate kisses his neck, right above the mating bite.

“Mine,” murmurs Madara, possessively. “My omega.”

“Yours,” agrees Tobirama. “And you’re my alpha.”

Madara’s hand trails down Tobirama’s stomach and over his omega’s groin, fingers becoming sticky with his mate’s cum. He brings his fingers up to Tobirama’s mouth, smearing the white liquid over his mate’s lips. Tobirama’s tongue flicks out to lap the remaining cum off of Madara’s fingers, leaning his head forward to suck Madara’s index and middle finger into his mouth.

Madara shivers, his hips twitching forward. His knot tugs on the rim of Tobirama’s hole as he moves, his mate instinctively clenching down around his length. Knowing how much his mate loves that feeling, he rocks his hips, hearing Tobirama let out a purring moan. It’s arousing, to have his omega stuck on his cock, muscles tightening around him.

Madara shifts their position until Tobirama is lying on his stomach, with Madara draped across his back. He likes having Tobirama underneath him, feeling a surge of protectiveness. He grabs Tobirama’s wrists and pins his mate’s hands to the bed, grinding his hips down.

Tobirama can feel his cock hardening once again, Madara’s rocking motion dragging it across the bed, creating wonderful friction. Their bond is still wide open, neither one of them having made an effort to block the other’s emotions. He can feel Madara’s pleasure, increasing each time his muscles tense around his alpha’s knot.

Tobirama winces as his sore nipples drag across the bed, causing Madara to stop moving as he senses his mate’s discomfort. Tobirama whines as the friction to his cock stops, not minding the slight pain in his chest to feel the pleasure elsewhere. He wiggles his hips, glad when Madara gets the idea and continues moving.

Locked together like this, they can’t move very much, so it takes longer for them to reach their peak this time. Tobirama shudders at the burst of warmth he feels as Madara cums inside him for the second time. His hips squirm as Madara stops moving, not having reached his own release yet. But Madara’s hands keep him pinned to the bed, feeling his mate’s lips on his neck, nibbling and sucking on the soft skin.

Tobirama realizes with some frustration that Madara intends to tease him for a while. Madara’s weight across his back keeps him from getting up and finishing himself off. His wrists are transferred to just one of Madara’s hands, the Uchiha’s other hand coming up to his lips, sliding into his open mouth. It wouldn’t take too much effort to break out of Madara’s grasp like this, but he lets Madara hold his wrists down.

The fingers force themselves deeper, almost choking him. Moaning, he sucks on the slender digits, feeling them slide across his tongue. Pinned down like this, he feels safe and loved in Madara’s hold. Closing his eyes, he lets Madara manipulate his body until he’s finally allowed to cum, shuddering and moaning from the intensity of his pleasure.

They move over onto their side, relaxing against each other until Madara’s knot un-swells. Tobirama stays on the bed while Madara gets up and heads to the bathroom. His alpha comes back a moment later with a wash cloth and bottle of Vaseline. After cleaning the two of them up, Madara rubs some Vaseline into Tobirama’s sore nipples, not wanting them to get chaffed.

Looking at the clock, Madara can see that they still have time before they have to pick Amaya up. He lies back down and snuggles up against Tobirama, the two of them slowly falling asleep. If they don’t wake up from their nap in time, Madara knows that Hashirama can simply bring Amaya to them. The brunette has a spare key to their house and knows to knock on the bedroom door before entering.

* * *

Two weeks later, the preparations for the tournament are complete. Twenty omegas, eleven from the Senju clan and nine from the Uchiha clan, have agreed to participate in the tournament. The omegas are eager to prove that they’re the equal of any alpha, while the alphas want to prove their superiority.

To make things fair, they selected only twenty alphas from the group of volunteers. They won’t get everything done in one day as they’ve decided to hold one match at a time. It’ll be easier to monitor the fight if there aren’t multiple people fighting at the same time. The rules for the tournament are: no large-scale jutsus, no poisons, and no intentionally lethal attacks. 

Tobirama schedules his match for last, choosing the strongest alpha as his opponent. He knows he’s the strongest omega here and doesn’t want the other omegas to look weak by comparison. He wants the audience to be impressed by the strength and skill of the other omegas, rather than have the audience constantly comparing the other omegas to himself. This tournament is not about him, and it would defeat the purpose if everyone focuses only on his own abilities. He wants the people of Konoha to realize that natural born omegas have as much capability as alphas.

Tobirama finishes checking the list of matches, making sure that everything is in order. They had tried to choose opponents who were fairly evenly matched. This way, even if the omega lost, it would be a close enough victory to impress the spectators.

The first match is between Naraho Aburame and Yakao Uchiha. A swarm of bugs erupts from Naraho’s clothing and heads straight towards Yakao. The omega forms a series of hand signs and fire spews from his mouth, roasting half the swarm.

An irritated look briefly crosses Naraho’s face before he recalls his bugs, recognizing that he needs a different strategy. The two shinobi exchange a hail of shuriken and kunai, both of them dodging the weapons with ease.

As the two begin to fight hand-to-hand, it becomes apparent that Yakao has the advantage. The Aburame clan favors long-range attacks, using their bugs to kill or weaken their opponents. It’s not that Naraho doesn’t know how to fight using taijutsu, but Yakao is better at it.

A hush goes over the crowd as Yakao knocks Naraho to the ground, holding a kunai up against the bug user’s throat. The Aburame has no choice but to yield, conceding defeat to Yakao.

Tobirama considers it a good sign that an omega was able to win the first match. Hopefully it will become a reoccurring pattern.

The next match is between female omega, Hitomi Uchiha, and male alpha, Rokuro Inuzuka. The crowd is a bit more rowdy this time, Rokuro’s clan loudly cheering him on. Rokuro cockily steps forward and the fight begins. And then ends fifteen minutes later with half of Rokuro’s hair burnt off, a satisfied smirk on Hitomi’s face.

Most of the Inuzuka clan is shocked silent, except for one of their omegas, who is laughing loudly. Tobirama sees a curious look enter Izuna’s eyes before the Uchiha goes over to talk to her. He doesn’t have time to eavesdrop on their conversation as the next fight begins.

This one does not go as well. Hotaru Senju vs Rina Yamanaka. Most of the Senju clan has never fought a Yamanaka before and Hotaru becomes disoriented by Rina’s mental attack, allowing the alpha to knock her down. Omegas-2. Alphas-1.

Next up is Itsuki Senju vs Osamu Akimichi. For a while, it looks like the fight could go either way but Osamu wins in the end, causing the alphas to grin smugly. They get through half of the matches that day with a score of Omegas-4, Alphas-6. It’s a bit disheartening but Tobirama has hope that more omegas will win tomorrow. And it’s not such a bad score if you think of it in fractions. The omegas won 2/5ths of the time.

Tobirama and Madara begin to head home, joined a moment later by Izuna and Hashirama. Amaya looks at her uncles with sleepy eyes, cuddled up in Tobirama’s arms. It’s been a long day for her, and there had been moments where Tobirama had had to take her somewhere else to calm her down as she became spooked by all the noise.

The five of them head to Tobirama and Madara’s house to talk. The alphas wait to start the conversation while Tobirama puts Amaya to bed. Then Madara begins to interrogate Izuna while they sit on the living room couches.

“You were talking to that omega for hours. Who was she?” asks Madara.

“Her name is Natsumi Inuzuka. That alpha she was laughing at earlier is her first cousin. They don’t get along. Rokuro disapproves of the fact that Natsumi wants to be a shinobi. However, not everyone in their clan shares his opinion. Half the clan thinks omegas should be allowed to fight, while the other half is still stuck in the dark ages,” says Izuna.

Izuna’s eyes light up a bit as he continues talking about her. “Natsumi has had some basic training. Her parents a bit old fashioned but wanted her to know enough to protect herself from civilians and common bandits. Natsumi is really excited by this tournament. She hopes it will convince the rest of her clan that omegas can fight, and thus won’t protest when she asks one of her clansmen to help her improve her fighting abilities.”

“You sound a bit infatuated with her,” points out Madara.

Izuna smiles, a light blush spreading across his face. “I do like her. She’s not as delicate or prim and proper as some of the other female omegas. She’s not afraid to express herself, and to yell and curse when she’s angry.”

“You like her because she doesn’t act subservient,” says Tobirama, amused.

Izuna shrugs. “I know not every omega acts submissive; most in my clan don’t. But outside of the clan, I’ve found it difficult to find a strong-willed omega. After we made the peace treaty with your clan and I realized Senju omegas weren’t overly submissive either, I wondered if I should try to court one of them. However, I think this might be better. The Uchiha and Inuzuka clan don’t have a history of violence the way the Uchiha and Senju clan do. Natsumi won’t be instinctively wary of me because I’m an Uchiha.”

“Did she seem interested in you as a mate?” asks Hashirama curiously.

“I think so,” replies Izuna. “It’s possible her friendly behavior just means she wants to be friends, but a more romantic interest could develop if we spend time together.”

“And if it doesn’t?” asks Madara.

Izuna briefly frowns. “Well, I’ll be disappointed, certainly. But if friendship is all she wants, then I’ll gladly be her friend. I am hoping for romance, though.”

“You should show her you can be romantic,” suggests Hashirama. “Do you think she’d like flowers?”

“Hmm. I don’t know. Just because she isn’t as feminine as other female omegas doesn’t mean she won’t like some of the same things they do. I think before bringing her anything, I should talk to her about what she likes. I wouldn’t want to accidently bring her something she hates or is allergic to,” replies Izuna.

“You make a good point,” says Hashirama. “I’ll need to keep that in mind when I find an omega I want to start courting.”

“You were going to look for an omega in Whirlpool, right?” asks Izuna.

Remembering that Izuna hadn’t been there when he had mentioned the letter he sent to Whirlpool, Hashirama repeated his story to Izuna. When he was done, he noticed how late it was getting.

“Ah, we should probably head back home now, or at least leave Madara and Tobirama’s house. They need all the sleep they can get, having to wake up early to take care of Amaya,” says Hashirama.

The four of them say their goodbyes and Hashirama and Izuna head out the door. Tired, Madara and Tobirama get ready for bed in silence and then curl up together in bed. With the long day they’ve had, it doesn’t take very long for them to fall asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Madara and Tobirama's bond has deepened. I don't recall if I've mentioned this before, but there are three levels to the bond. The first level causes an alpha to become protective of their omega, and the omega instinctively trusts their alpha. 
> 
> The bond deepens to the second level after the couple has fallen in love. If they're already in love when a bond forms, then it starts out on the second level. This type of bond allows them to sense each other's emotions and whether their mate is injured. With practice, a bonded couple can learn to tune out the other's emotions.
> 
> The third level is very rare and usually only develops between people who have known each other since childhood. This type of bond allows them to communicate telepathically. This bond typically develops after a couple has known each other for so long that they can communicate without words anyways, conveying a message with just a look. 
> 
> In this chapter, you might have noticed that Tobirama purrs more often than Madara. Omegas will purr as a sign of pleasure, contentment, and happiness while alphas usually only purr to soothe their omega.


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have made a slight change to the previous chapter. Originally, I had put 'no jutsus' as one of the tournament rules, but then preceded to write the matches with them using jutsus, for some reason. Rather than re-write the matches, I changed the rule from 'no jutsus' to 'no large-scale jutsus.' That way, none of the jutsus will hit the audience.

Tobirama sits under the shade of a tree, Amaya curled up in his arms. Beside him, Madara sets out a blanket, setting their daughter’s stuffed animals and toys on it. It’s the second day of the tournament and the first match is just about to start. They’re hoping that Amaya will be less spooked by the noise today. They’re not sure how much she understands, but maybe she’ll realize that nothing bad happened to her yesterday and it was just a bunch of loud noises.

Perhaps it would be better to leave her with a babysitter but Tobirama doesn’t like having Amaya out of his sight unless Madara, Hashirama, or Izuna is watching her. And the three of them are needed to monitor the fights, to make sure nothing gets out of hand.

Today, the first match is between Haruto Senju and Kohaku Yamanaka. Having watched yesterday’s matches, Haruto knows to dodge when Kohaku starts forming hand signs, getting out of the way of the Yamanaka’s mental attack. It turns into a taijutsu battle from there, which Haruto ends up winning.

Tobirama makes a mental note of it that the Yamanaka and Aburame clan needs to put a greater emphasis on taijutsu. They’re not weak by any means, but they rely a bit too much on their mental powers and kikaichu. It’s something to keep in mind in case he ever ends up with one of them as his students. The first class will graduate from the Ninja Academy in a few years, and he might be ready to teach a team by then.

Tobirama turns his attention back to the training grounds as Katashi Uchiha and Umeko Nara step forward. Having never seen the Nara clan’s shadow manipulation before, it’s a fascinating fight to watch. As Katashi quickly realizes he needs to dodge the moving shadows, it becomes a battle of wits as Umeko tries to come up a way to touch Katashi’s shadow with her own.

Tobirama actually finds this battle to be fun to watch, even though Umeko is the one winning. Although he’d prefer the omegas to be the ones to win this tournament, he enjoys seeing a battle of wits more than a battle of brawn. And really, Umeko is using a rather omega way of winning the fight, as alphas are known for being physically stronger than omegas, not smarter.

He wonders what the Nara clan thinks of omegas being allowed to fight. If their style of fighting relies on brains over brawn, then there’s no reason to keep their omegas off the battlefield, even if they believe omegas to be weaker than alphas. He’ll need to talk to their clan after the tournament is over.

Tobirama isn’t surprised when Umeko wins the fight, changing the score to Omegas-5, Alphas-7. The next match is between Sayuri Senju and Naoki Inuzuka. He can tell from the calm look on Naoki’s face that this fight won’t be easy for Sayuri. Obviously, Naoki is not as arrogant as Rokuro Inuzuka was, and thus less likely to let arrogance blind him to his opponent’s true strength.

Tobirama wonders if some of these fights would turn out differently if everyone was allowed to use the full scope of their abilities. But some of the jutsus these people can use have a high risk of hitting the audience or causing fatal injuries to their opponents. The restriction was necessary to keep this a friendly spar and not a fight to the death.

Tobirama frowns as Naoki wins the fight, more irritated by the way the Inuzuka clan is loudly cheering than he is by the fact an alpha won, especially since the noise causes Amaya to start crying. With a soft sigh, he creates a shadow clone to watch the next fight then picks Amaya up. Madara gives him a questioning look as he stands, silently asking if he should go with them, but Tobirama shakes his head. He can calm Amaya down on his own, and Madara should continue monitoring the tournament.

Tobirama takes Amaya to the park, on the other side of the village. He talks to her quietly, so that by the time they reach their destination, she’s looking up at him calmly. Sitting on the park bench, he nudges his kimono to the side so that he can place her mouth near his nipple. As he guessed, it’s been long enough since she last ate that she’s begun to get hungry again, so she latches on and begins to drink.

Tobirama is reluctant to take Amaya back to the training ground, knowing the noise is just going to rile her up again. Instead of heading back right away, he walks around the park, seeing a curious look in her eyes as she glances around at the people and the trees. Deciding that she’s calm enough for now, he makes his way back to the training ground, his clone dispelling as soon as it catches sight of him.

He’s missed two fights: Shiori Uchiha vs Moriko Aburame and Tsubaki Uchiha vs Hibiki Akimichi. Shiori and Hibiki were the ones to win their fights. He’s annoyed by the new score: Omegas-6, Alphas-9. He can tell that the omegas yet to fight are upset by this as well, not wanting the alphas to have such a clear victory. But there are still five matches left in the first round of this tournament, and he can see determination in the omegas eyes to win their spars.

Nori Uchiha and Saburo Akimichi are up next. There’s a steely look in Nori’s eyes as she stares at Saburo, and he actually sees the alpha take a step back at how fierce her glare is. The Akimichi is not going to have an easy battle.

And Tobirama’s predications are proven correct as Nori fights like a woman possessed, not giving Saburo an inch of space, her attacks lightning quick. Saburo doesn’t even have any time to perform hand signs, forced to keep defending from her attacks. The match ends with Nori as the winner, causing the omegas in the audience to cheer.

Tobirama quickly checks on Amaya, but his daughter just looks annoyed by the noise this time instead of alarmed. He’s just thankful that she doesn’t start crying. He picks up the rattle and waves it in front of her, her eyes darting side to side as she watches it move. He smiles as she reaches out and grabs it, pleased to see her starting to look happy again.

Tobirama scoots Amaya’s stuffed rabbit closer to her, hoping it’ll keep her calm. He turns his attention back to the tournament as Akio Senju and Andrea Yamanaka begin to fight. From what he can tell, it doesn’t look like the Yamanaka clan knows many jutsus besides their clan’s special mind techniques. The two shinobi end up using mostly taijutsu and kenjutsu. He knows that Akio knows some earth type jutsus, but he has to be careful not to perform any jutsus that could hit the audience.

Thinking about the fights he’s seen so far, Tobirama can understand why the Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi clans are allies. Their unique abilities are able to compensate for any weaknesses the other has. In this day and age, most of the jutsus anyone knows are taught to them by their clan. The Uchiha are able to use their sharingan to copy other clans’ jutsu, but everyone else has to try and make their own.

It’s why Tobirama had studied the theory of jutsu creation. Most of those in his clan had an earth type affinity, so most of the techniques his clan knew were earth based. However, his mother had married into the clan and had a water affinity. She had known a few suiton jutsus, but not enough in Tobirama’s opinion, so he had sought to create his own.

Tobirama wonders how things will change now that there are multiple ninja clans living together in peace. Those who know how to create jutsu might be able to work together and create even better techniques than they would have been able to make on their own. He knows that each clan won’t want to share every jutsu they know, such as the Yamanaka’s mind techniques or the Nara’s shadow manipulation, but they might have other jutsus they’re willing to share. Also, civilians will now have a unique opportunity to become ninja without having to marry into a clan.

Tobirama is snapped from his thoughts as the audience starts cheering again, looking up to see that Akio has won. There are just three more fights left in the first round. He pays special attention to the next fight: Yuuta Senju vs Kenji Nara. Like Umeko Nara, Kenji uses strategy and wit to win his fight rather than brute strength. It’s fascinating to watch, and he thinks he might try to befriend one of the Nara. With their intelligence, there’s bound to be one of them who enjoys jutsu creation, fuinjutsu, and just leaning about the world in general as much as he does.

The last match before his is between Atsuko Uchiha and Eito Aburame. The omega almost loses this fight as some of the Aubrame’s bugs are able to sneak onto her body without her noticing and begin to slowly drain her chakra. But Atsuko notices in time, swatting the bugs off her person and using the rest of her chakra wisely.

The omegas in the audience are ecstatic as Atsuko wins, bringing the score up to Omegas-9, Alphas-10. Now all Tobirama has to do is win against Mei Inuzuka, and the score will be even. Although Tobirama knows he’s likely to win, it won’t be a walk in the park. Mei is the leader of the Inuzuka clan, and he’s heard about how fierce she is in battle.

Trusting that Madara can look after Amaya while he’s busy, Tobirama gets up and heads to the center of the training ground, watching Mei approach him with a neutral expression. They shift into a fighting stance and the match begins. He’s impressed by Mei’s taijutsu skill and even the speed of her attacks; though as he initially guessed, he is faster than her.

Tobirama can see frustration in Mei’s eyes as the fight progresses and she fails to gain the upper hand. As the leader of her clan, she’s likely used to being the strongest one around. And as an alpha, she’s probably internalized their society’s belief that alphas are just naturally stronger than omegas. It likely hurts her pride to realize that she’s weaker than him.

Tobirama sticks to taijutsu and Kenjutsu during this match. He wants to show that he can win through physical strength, which is what alphas are known for. He’s going to beat them at their own game.

By the end of the fight, Tobirama has a few cuts and bruises but he’s undoubtedly victorious. He’s managed to knock Mei to the ground, a kunai against her throat as the alpha gasps for breath, winded from trying to keep up with him.

“Well? Do you yield?” asks Tobirama.

Mei glares. “…Yes.”

Tobirama stands up and holds out his hand to Mei. The alpha stares at it for a moment before letting him help her up. He can see begrudging respect in her eyes as she looks at him. He stares back calmly, waiting for her to say something.

Mei eventually huffs in amused frustration. “You’re strong,” she admits. “Some might say it’s because you used to be an alpha, but all I can smell from you is omega. Whatever you used to be has no bearing on what you are now. This tournament isn’t over yet, but I’ve seen enough so far to realize how much potential omegas have.”

Tobirama raises an eyebrow. “Does that mean you’ll let your omegas become shinobi?”

Mei purses her lips in thought. “After seeing this, it would be unfair not to. I just worry about what will happen to the children if both their parents are out fighting. What happens if they both end up dead on a mission?”

Aware of how everyone in the audience is listening to their conversation, Tobirama thinks about his answer carefully. “Well, for starters, I think only one parent should be allowed out on missions at a time, unless there’s some kind of emergency. The parents should also have a list of people who they’d like to take care of their child if anything happens to them. The list should have multiple people on it, in case something happens to their first choice.”

Mei gives a small nod of her head, a thoughtful look in her eyes.

“Another thing to consider is that with the shinobi and civilians living so close together now, some of your omegas may end up marrying a civilian alpha,” says Tobirama.

Mei stares at him in surprise. “A civilian alpha?” she repeats.

“Yes, unless you restrict that kind of thing?” he asks.

Mei shakes her head. “No, they can marry whoever they like. Well, as long as the person isn’t an enemy of the clan…..or the village as a whole,” she says thoughtfully.

Tobirama smiles. “Good. And of course, if they marry a civilian, then you won’t have to worry as much about both parents unexpectedly dying.”

“Very well then,” says Mei. “I will allow the omegas of my clan to become shinobi.”

Mei walks away then, so Tobirama heads back over to Madara and Amaya. His mate is holding their daughter, his scent happy. Tobirama lets Madara continue holding Amaya, not wanting to be too clingy with her. Just because he gave birth to her doesn’t mean he has to be the one to hold her 24/7. He thinks it would probably be an unhealthy attitude to have, actually, and tells his instincts to shut up.

Honestly, with how attached he is to her, he wonders how any omega has ever allowed their child out of their sight let only out onto the battlefield. Perhaps the overprotectiveness is just because he’s a new parent, and his clan was recently at war. Their village is filled with former enemies, after all; his attitude is probably normal in this situation.

“You were brilliant out there,” praises Madara. “Not too show-offy, while still putting on a good enough show to impress.”

“Thank you,” replies Tobirama, tone amused.

The crowd slowly starts to disperse and Tobirama sees that Izuna is still talking to Natsumi. Considering that the two of them have been chatting the entire time today, he thinks things are going well for them. Perhaps Izuna will get his wish of having her as a mate.

“I think it’s time to head home now,” suggests Madara, looking at Amaya’s tired expression. “She looks like she’s about to fall asleep any minute now.”

Tobirama agrees, reaching out to lay his hand on her forehead. Not too warm. He had worried that the August heat wouldn’t be good for her, but they had kept her in the shade as much as they could and that had seemed to help.

As the two of them make their way home, Tobirama hears a faint meow as they walk through the market district. He hesitates then heads in the direction of the meow, which is coming from between two store buildings. One of them is the grocery store, which makes sense if the cat is indeed a stray like he suspects.

Sympathy fills Tobirama’s heart as he sees the tiny, skinny kitty. It looks to be about two months old and is clearly underfed. Not on the verge of starvation because cats are clever hunters, but it’s not getting as much food as it should. He crouches down a few feet away, hating the wary way it looks at him. Cats shouldn’t be afraid of humans.

“Come here kitty, kitty, kitty,” says Tobirama softly, holding his hand out.

It approaches him cautiously, hesitantly sniffing at his hand. He moves slowly and begins to pet its head, hearing a soft purr a moment later. He smiles at the sound, hoping that Madara doesn’t mind that he’s just adopted a kitten. There’s no way he could abandon this little ball of fluff now.

“Do you want to come home with me, kitty?” he asks.

“Meow.”

Taking that as an affirmative, Tobirama picks the kitten up, feeling it tense up for a moment as if it’s about to leap away, but it gradually relaxes and lets him carry it out of the alley. As he approaches Madara with the kitten, he can feel his mate’s amusement. It’s still a bit odd to be able to sense Madara’s emotions now, but it comes in handy to sense Madara’s reaction to things.

“I suppose we’ll need to buy cat food soon,” says Madara. “It’s rather late now, so I doubt the stores are open. We can feed it fish tonight.”

“Thank you.” He’s relieved by the easy acceptance that Madara has for him just suddenly adopting a cat.

Madara shrugs. “I like cats too, you know. Of course, if you were wanting to adopt 20 of them or something, it’d be a different story. But one or two pets is perfectly fine.”

Not when he was a child it wasn’t. His father had seen pets as something childish and a distraction from his duties as a ninja of the clan. For as many positive memories he had of his family, there were just as many disappointing ones.

As they enter their home, Madara says, “It’ll need a bath. And for us to figure out what gender it is so we can give it a name. It feels odd to keep calling the kitten ‘it’.”

“Hmm,” Tobirama hums thoughtfully. “I think it’s a girl. I’ll go give her a bath while you put Amaya to bed, alright?”

Madara nods, heading to the bedroom while Tobirama takes the kitten to the bathroom. He makes sure to close the door before setting the kitten on the floor. He turns on the water, checking the temperature to make sure it isn’t too hot or cold. Of course, the kitten is now huddles up against the door, not liking the noise of the bathtub.

“It’s okay, kitty. I know you don’t like the water on your fur, but we have to get the dirt out. You won’t have to get baths too often, just once every couple months,” says Tobirama.

The kitten seems soothed by his voice and lets him pick her up. As soon as he sets her in the water, though, she begins to struggle. He hates having to force her to stay in the tub, but it’s necessary. He doesn’t have any pet-friendly soap to use on her, but just the warm water is able to get most of the dirt out of her fur.

Once the bath is done, he gets a towel from the cabinet and wraps her in it, holding her close to his chest. He can feel her trembling, either from fear or the cold. Hopefully, it’s the latter. He doesn’t want to her to be afraid of him.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it, kitty? I’m sure you’ll feel better once your fur is dry. And now you don’t have to taste mud every time you give yourself a bath,” says Tobirama.

Tobirama heads into the kitchen and gets out a plate with one hand, grabbing some fish from the fridge. They don’t buy the kind with bones in them, so he doesn’t have to worry about her choking. Her head pokes out of the towel, her nose twitching at the scent.

He sets the plate down on the floor, letting her wiggle out of his arms to get to the food. He smiles at the sight of her scarfing down the food, hearing her let out a loud purr. He knows that she’s going to be an affectionate pet, being happy with them for feeding her after having to hunt for any scrap of food for who knows how long.

Tobirama glances up as Madara enters the room, amused as his mate blinks at the cat in surprise.

“Her fur is white,” says Madara. “All that mud made it difficult to tell.”

“I was thinking we could call her Mika,” suggests Tobirama. “What do you think?”

Madara crouches down next to the kitten, who blinks up at him adorably. He holds out his hand for her to sniff, lightly petting her head when she goes back to eating.

“Mika is an excellent name,” replies Madara.

There’s a lull in the conversation as they watch the kitten sniff around the kitchen, exploring her new home. Remembering what other things pets need, he gets out a bowl and fills it with water, putting it down next to her plate. They’ll need to buy her a litter box tomorrow, and then teach her to use it. Hopefully, it won’t take too long for her to learn.

“Since it was decided that the second round of the tournament isn’t going to start for a few days, I was wondering if you’d like to have a picnic lunch tomorrow,” says Madara.

Tobirama looks away from the kitten to give his alpha a pleased smile. “I’d like that.”

As it’s getting late, the two of them begin to get ready for bed. Tobirama grabs a blanket they don’t use much from the hall closet and sets it on their bedroom floor for the kitten. He isn’t really sure what to do about the litterbox situation for tonight. He doesn’t want her to poop on the floor but doesn’t know what he can do about it.

What he ends up doing is laying a bunch of paper towels all around her blanket, hoping that she’ll use it as a bathroom instead of their floor. He’s glad that they opted out of carpet and instead just put some rugs down on their wooden floor. Carpet stains too easily.

Tobirama pets Mika goodnight then crawls into bed with Madara. He lets out a soft purr as his alpha’s arms wrap around him, cuddling up to Madara’s chest. He takes slow, deep breaths and lets his muscles relax, quickly falling asleep.

* * *

Tobirama hums quietly as he prepares the sandwiches for their picnic while Madara puts together their salad. Amaya watches them from her high-chair, always curious to see what they’re doing. He peels a banana and thoroughly mashes it, placing the mush inside a small glass container.

Tobirama knows from some of the other parents that babies will begin to eat solid food between 4-6 months. Today, he’s going to try and see if she’s ready to eat more than milk. He packs up their food in a basket and gets a picnic blanket from the hall closet.

Their new cat, Mika, is peacefully sleeping on the couch. They’ll purchase some cats things for her after lunch. This time, Madara is the one to carry Amaya while Tobirama holds the picnic basket. He doesn’t want to give the impression he doesn’t trust his mate by always being the one to hold Amaya; his instincts just want him to be close to her as much as possible.

As he lays the blanket down on the ground, Tobirama breathes in deeply, enjoying the fresh air. The sun is shining and a cool breeze is blowing. Dandelions are scattered across the park, giving the plain green grass some extra color.

Sitting down on the blanket, he smiles as Madara plops down next to him. Amaya is placed in Madara’s lap and he watches his mate get out her stuffed rabbit, amused by how happy she is to see that toy.

“It’s a good day for a picnic, don’t you think?” asks Tobirama.

“It is,” agrees Madara. “I’m glad the weather didn’t decide to start raining. Bread doesn’t taste good soggy.”

Tobirama’s shoulders shake as he laughs silently. Most of the time he laughs with no sound, and can’t understand how Hashirama is comfortable laughing so loudly. It’s not even that he feels self-conscious about others hearing his laugh, but a part of him cringes at the idea of being loud. He thinks it’s probably a result of his shinobi stealth training. The quiet ninja is the one who avoids enemy detection.

Tobirama gets out their food, placing a sandwich and some salad on a plate before handing it to Madara. They eat in silence, watching the children running around the park. It’s a peaceful day, and he hopes that they can have many years like this.

“Do you think she’ll eat the banana?” asks Tobirama, grabbing the jar from the basket along with a spoon.

Madara shrugs. “Who knows?” He looks down at Amaya. “Well, Amaya? Do you want to try the banana?”

Amaya blinks up at them. “Aa-aa?”

“Yes, ba-na-na,” says Madara, slowly.

“Aa!” exclaims Amaya, wiggling her arms, grasping the ear of her stuffed rabbit with one tiny first.

Madara chuckles. “I think that’s a yes.”

Tobirama gets a spoonful of banana mush and holds it up to Amaya’s mouth, seeing a confused expression cross his daughter’s face. He pokes the spoon into her mouth, letting some of the banana drop onto her tongue. Withdrawing the spoon, he watches her face as she tastes the banana for the first time, smiling as her eyes light up.

“Aa-aa!” says Amaya demandingly, holding out her hands towards the spoon.

Laughing, Tobirama gets another scoop of banana and places it in her mouth, glad that she’s eating it instead of spitting it out. Though some of it does dribble out of her mouth because babies are messy without even trying to be. He gets a cloth from the basket and cleans her face, amused by the way she scrunches up her nose. She reaches for the spoon again, so he feeds her more of the banana. She eats about half of it before deciding that she’s done.

Tobirama packs up their plates and then glances around. “What should we do now?”

“I’m not sure,” replies Madara. “There isn’t much to do for adults in the park except walk around, and Amaya is too young for the slides. They do have swings for infants but that’s probably not a good idea right after she’s eaten. It’d likely make her nauseous.”

“And then we’d have a mess to clean up and a crying baby,” says Tobirama with a grimace.

“We could try talking to people?” suggests Madara, not sounding at all enthused by the idea.

Tobirama looks at him skeptically. Neither one of them are very social people, preferring to have only a small group of close friends. But then his gaze rests on Amaya, and he realizes that she hasn’t been around any other children since she’s been born.

“Babies are supposed to socialize, right?” asks Tobirama. “That’s how children develop social skills, by talking to each other.”

Madara shrugs, looking around the park. “Over there is one of your clanmates, right? She’s got an infant.”

“Yes, that’s Hana with her six month old son, Daichi. She gave me some advice about children while I was pregnant. I think she’d be willing to set up play-dates between our children,” says Tobirama. “It’ll be good for Amaya to have a friend.”

Tobirama picks up Amaya while Madara collects their stuff, and the two of them walk over to Hana. The female omega smiles when she sees them approaching, greeting them with a cheerful ‘hello.’

“How are you two doing?” asks Hana.

“We’re good,” assures Tobirama. “But it’s recently come to our attention that Amaya hasn’t been around anyone her own age.”

“And you were wondering if I’d like to set up playdates between her and Daichi?” guesses Hana.

“Yes, exactly,” says Tobirama.

“I think that sounds like an excellent idea. I could bring Daichi over to your home later today if the two of you aren’t busy?” asks Hana.

Tobirama gives Madara a questioning look, silently asking if his mate has any objections.

“That’s fine,” says Madara. “Though, we’ve recently acquired a kitten. Are you or Daichi allergic to cats?”

“No, luckily we aren’t. I’ll see you later then, say around four?” asks Hana.

“That works. We’ll see you then,” replies Tobirama.

The three of them say good-bye, and Madara and Tobirama head to the market district. They acquire a couple of pet bowls, a litter box and litter, a few cats toys, a scratching post, and some cat nip.

As they head back home, Tobirama notices Amaya yawning, her eyes blinking sleepily. Looks like it’s time for her nap. He carries her into the bedroom while Madara puts away their stuff, humming his daughter a lullaby. He gently kisses her forehead and sets her down in the crib, watching her peacefully sleeping face for a minute before going back into the living room.

Tobirama blinks down at Mika as the cat begins to rub up against his legs. He picks her up and pets her cheek, amused by the way she keeps moving her head so that he ends up petting her in multiple places.

“You’re an affectionate little ball of fluff, aren’t you?” he murmurs as she begins purring.

“She is a very happy cat,” says Madara from the kitchen. “I’ve put her food and water dishes in the corner. Make note of the location so you don’t step on them.”

“Okay. And where should we put her litter box?” asks Tobirama.

“I don’t know. Maybe by the back door?” suggests Madara. “I don’t want it in the bathroom because it’ll make the room stink. After all, who wants to smell cat poo when you’re trying to shower?”

“Or when you’re trying to give your daughter a bath,” says Tobirama. “By the back door is fine. We can put it in the corner. Since we bought the lid for it, the sight of it shouldn’t upset any guests we have. Though we’ll have to block it off so Amaya doesn’t get into it.”

Madara sighs. “Babies make everything more complicated. I don’t suppose the cat could just go outside when it needs to go?”

Tobirama raises an eyebrow. “Even when it’s snowing?”

“….I guess not. Fine, but what do we use to block the area off?” asks Madara.

Tobirama eyes that corner of the room thoughtfully. “Maybe Hashirama could use his Mokuton and create bars around that area. The bars could be large enough for a cat to fit through but too small for a baby or toddler to squeeze through.”

“It’s a good thing we don’t have stairs in the house or else we’d have to barricade them as well,” says Madara.

“Mrow!”

Tobirama startles at the loud noise, giving a bemused stare to the cat in his arms. Mika gives another loud meow and demandingly rubs her head against his hand. Apparently, she was annoyed that he had gotten distracted and stopped petting her.

“That is a very needy cat,” comments Madara, amused. “If I was you, I’d pet her before she decides to nip your fingers.”

Tobirama obligingly begins to pet her again, wondering if Mika actually would bite. They haven’t had her for very long, so he doesn’t yet know how she’ll react to things. Some cats are biters, some scratch, and others are too docile for that unless they’re actually under attack.

“We should get the litterbox set up and show her where it is,” says Madara.

Tobirama nods his head and sets Mika down, ignoring her meow of protest. He takes the litterbox to the corner of the room and half fills it with litter. He leaves the lid off for now and then picks Mika up, setting her down in the box. Mika seems confused, pawing at the sand before jumping out of the box.

“She’ll get it eventually,” says Madara after Tobirama sighs.

“Yeah.”

Tobirama grabs a book from the bookshelf and sits down on the couch. A moment later, Madara sits down next to him, reading his own book. They like to spend about 30-60 minutes a day like this, peacefully reading.

Tobirama smiles as Mika jumps up onto the couch with them and crawls into his lap, taking a nap while the two of them read. He feels at peace like this, and can feel a steady contentment from Madara through their bond. He thinks he wouldn’t mind spending every day like this.

* * *

Tobirama is picking Amaya up from her crib when he hears a knock on the door. Judging by the chakra signature, it’s Hana with her son, Daichi.

“It looks like you woke up just in time,” he says to Amaya. “Would you like to meet Hana and Daichi?”

Amaya blinks at him then begins to make baby noises. Tobirama smiles and listens to her babble for a moment before taking her out to the living room. He finds Madara and Hana sitting on the couch, with Daichi on a blanket on the floor, his toys scattered around him.

Tobirama exchanges greetings with Hana before setting Amaya’s blanket next to Daichi’s, setting her down in the middle. He gives Amaya her stuffed rabbit and then watches the two infants stare at each other for a moment. Daichi and Amaya seem fascinated by each other, imitating each other’s expressions for a minute before they go back to playing with their own toys.

Tobirama sits down on the couch and looks at Hana. “So, about what age do they actually start playing together instead of next to each other?”

“Somewhere between one and two years,” replies Hana. “Though at such a young age, they’ll have trouble sharing. We’ll have to monitor them and make sure they don’t fight.”

Tobirama blinks. “Hitting each other kind of fighting?”

“More like tug of war over the same toy,” says Hana. “And a lot of crying.”

Madara glances at the children, feeling relieved that they’re ignoring each other instead of screaming. “I guess we have a few more years to go before she starts making friends, then.”

“Don’t worry about it too much. I’m sure she’ll make friends when she’s old enough,” reassures Hana. “With Hashirama as her uncle, I doubt she’ll be as much of a loner as the two of you are.”

Tobirama blinks, surprised that Hana had correctly guessed that he was worrying about such a thing. Although Tobirama didn’t have any problems with spending time by himself or just with a few other people, he worried that not having enough people around could stunt Amaya’s social skills. But Hana’s words assuaged his concerns.

“Hashirama is a very social person,” says Tobirama. “I suppose what Madara and I lack in social skills, she can learn from Hashirama.”

“Though, hopefully she won’t get his blind optimism,” snarks Madara.

Hana smiles. “Not entirely blind, is it? He got his dreams for peace, after all.”

Madara looks considering and Tobirama chuckles. “Perhaps he’ll get her determination then,” says Tobirama. “A persistence to keep trying to achieve your dreams until it’s a reality.”

“Add in our stubbornness and there’s no way she won’t get what she wants,” says Madara wryly.

Hana raises a hand to her mouth as she laughs. Before they can say anything else, there’s a whistling sound from the kitchen.

“Ah, the water for the tea is done,” says Madara.

Madara stands from the couch and gets the kettle off the stove, pouring each of them a cup of tea. He sets the cups on a tray with a cup of sugar and a bottle of honey, then heads back into the living room. A peaceful silence falls over the room as everyone prepares their drink, waiting for it to cool a bit before they drink.

“I’ve noticed that the two of you haven’t been on missions since Amaya was born,” says Hana. “Will you be going back to work anytime soon?”

Tobirama frowns, shrugging. “Madara and I had some money saved up, so we’ve been living off it for now. We are starting to run low on funds, so we’ll have to start taking missions again.”

“We’ve agreed that, for now, I’ll be the one doing missions,” interjects Madara. “When Amaya has been weaned, Tobirama will start taking short missions, not being gone for more than a few days.”

“You’re worried that Amaya will react negatively to him being gone?” guesses Hana.

Madara nods.

Hana hums in thought. “You’re not wrong. It’ll be an adjustment for her. Though, you know she won’t be happy if you leave for long periods of time either, right?” she asks Madara.

Madara’s eyes flicker over to Amaya. “I know. But one of us needs to be working. We’re growing a garden, which will cut down on food costs, but we still need money to buy clothes for her.”

Hana nods knowingly. “Young children outgrow their clothes rather quickly. Though, if you don’t mind hand-me-downs, I can talk to the other omegas in the clan and ask if they have any baby clothes they can spare.”

Madara hesitates, reluctant to accept charity from strangers. They could afford to buy Amaya’s clothes themselves, but they’d have little money left over for luxury items like new books. Glancing over at Tobirama, he discovers that his mate is staring at him disapprovingly.

“We’d be very grateful for your help, Hana,” says Tobirama, staring at Madara pointedly.

Madara suddenly remembers that above all else, his omega is a very practical man. Even if Tobirama’s pride rebelled at the idea like his did, Tobirama wasn’t going to turn away free help, at least not from his family. Perhaps Tobirama would be more reluctant to accept help from strangers.

“Yes, thank you, Hana,” says Madara reluctantly.

Tobirama gives him a pleased smile then, so it was worth it to bend his pride a little. And, it’ll be nice not to have to spend all of their money on baby clothes, especially since they recently got a cat. They would need to add cat food and litter to their budget.

Madara doesn’t mind having to spend money on that little ball of fluff, though. He likes cats, and he can tell how much Tobirama enjoys Mika cuddling up to him. He hadn’t expected it in the beginning of their relationship, but Tobirama is actually very physically affectionate. His mate loves to cuddle on the bed and sit close together on the couch. Tobirama will hug him at random times throughout the day, and after realizing that his mate needs that, he’s been initiating some of the hugs himself.

When he had brought up the subject to Tobirama, his mate had explained that his mother had hugged him a lot when he was younger. But at around age 12, his father had told his mother to stop ‘coddling’ him. There had been less hugs after that, but Hashirama had still given him random hugs when their father wasn’t around.

“It’s no problem at all,” says Hana, bringing his mind back to the present.

They let the children play for another half hour before Hana decides it’s time to head home. Although Amaya and Daichi didn’t interact much, the goal for today was simply to introduce her to someone near her own age. Hana will be bringing Daichi over again, once or twice a week for the foreseeable future. This way, Amaya will be used to having others her own age around. They worry she wouldn’t have any idea how to react to other children if they waited until she was older to introduce them to her.

Tobirama picks Amaya up as she begins to cry, realizing it’s time for her to eat. As he feeds her, Mika jumps up onto the couch and stares at the two of them. The way the cat is looking at them actually reminds him of the intent, curious way Amaya stares at the world. It’s the gaze of someone who has no idea what’s going but is determined to find out.

Tobirama holds out his free hand, amused when Mika begins to rub her cheek against his fingers. He leans back against the couch, petting the cat while Amaya drinks supper. His mate gets up from the couch and grabs a book from the bookshelf, sitting in the chair opposite of him. It lets him stretch out his legs and lie back on the couch. In about half an hour, one of them will need to start preparing supper, but for now, he’s content to sit here and relax.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel I should mention that I don't know anything about babies, so some of the stuff with Amaya may not be entirely accurate to her age group. But I tried researching things to make it as accurate as possible. If any of you have been around children or have had children, I'd like to hear about how they act at different age groups. What weird things do babies do? Toddlers? Pre-teens? 
> 
> Also, I'm not very good at writing fight scenes, which is why the fights are pretty much just summarized. Hopefully, I'll get better at writing them over time. 
> 
> Please tell me what you think of this chapter. :)


	12. Chapter Twelve

Tobirama sits down under the shade of a tree with Amaya as people begin to crowd around the training ground, waiting for the first match to start. The sun has only been up for a couple hours, but the air is already warm. Concerned, he gets out the sunblock and begins to apply it to Amaya’s skin.

Some of the mateless alphas give him an amused glance, but he ignores them to focus on his flailing child. Amaya doesn’t like the scent of the sunscreen, but it’s necessary today. He can tell it’s only going to get warmer as the sun rises, and being in the shade won’t be enough to protect her from sunburn.

Those alphas won’t be laughing when they have children of their own and realize how delicate an infant’s skin is. He won’t take chances with Amaya’s health, and he doesn’t want her to have to deal with sunburn at such a young age. Or any age really, but at least when she’s older, she would be able to understand why her skin is hurting.

After he’s done with Amaya, he applies the sunscreen to his own skin then hands the bottle over to Madara. His mate looks at the bottle skeptically, causing him to roll his eyes.

“Having a fire affinity won’t protect you from getting sunburn,” he says dryly. “I don’t like the weird smell any more than you do, but it’s necessary.”

Madara sighs and takes the bottle, wrinkling his nose as he rubs the cream into his skin. He places the bottle back into their small bag, which carries everything they’ll need for the day inside a few storage scrolls.

The first match of the day is between Kenji Nara and Yakao Uchiha. Having seen the first round, Yakao is prepared to deal with some of Kenji’s tricks. He knows to avoid the shadows and to keep moving. However, Kenji does not remain stationary and pursues the omega around the battle grounds.

Yakao creates an earth wall, which slows the Nara down but Kenji isn’t deterred. Despite the Nara clan’s preference for leisure, once they’re in a battle, they give it their all.

Kenji pulls out several shuriken from his weapons pouch and throws them at Yakao, revealing that the shuriken are connected by ninja wire. Kenji keeps a hold of one of the shuriken, creating a line of weapons. Yakao tries to dodge in time, but Kenji’s shadow follows the line of shuriken and latches onto Yakao’s, freezing the omega in place.

Kenji steps forward until Yakao’s back is to one of the trees, the audience members moving out of their way. He leans back slowly until Yakao’s head gently taps against the trunk of the tree. Kenji, however, has nothing behind him. If the alpha wanted, he could throw his head back, forcing Yakao’s head to come into painful contact with the tree.

Kenji stares at Yakao expectantly, waiting for the omega to come to the same conclusion. After a moment of silence, the omega gives a sigh of defeat.

“I yield,” says Yakao grudgingly.

Kenji releases his shadow and smiles at Yakao, surprisingly not mockingly.

“That was a good match. Perhaps we could spar sometime, keep both of our skills sharp?” offers Kenji.

Yakao blinks. “…Alright,” he says, bemused.

The two of them exit the battle portion of the training grounds to make way for Kaori Aburame and Haruto Senju. As soon as the fight starts, a swarm of insects flies out from Kaori’s clothing and heads towards Haruto. As Haruto has no skill with fire jutus, he doesn’t have an easy solution to dealing with the bugs.

Instead, Haruto uses an earth jutsu to sink into the ground, evading the flying insects. He reappears behind Kaori, which is a move she seems to have expected, immediately sending a hail of shuriken at the Senju. One of the shuriken grazes his arm as he dodges, leaving behind a shallow cut.

Kaori moves in closer and the two of them exchange a series of punches and kicks. While they’re fighting hand-to-hand, the insects come up behind Haruto, from the ground and the air. When Haruto notices, he tries to move out of their path but Kaori grabs his arm. He lashes out with his fist, but she dissolves into a bug clone as soon as he makes contact with her.

The insects from her clone swarm all over him, draining his chakra as quickly as they can. Haruto tries to brush the insects off of him, but there are too many of them. As the bugs drain his chakra, Haruto becomes dizzy from chakra exhaustion and passes out, making Kaori the clear winner. A couple of Haruto’s clansmen come up to him and carry him off the battle grounds so that the next contestants can step forward.

The third match of the day is between Umeko Nara and Aya Senju. Unlike Yakao, Aya doesn’t try to put distance between her and Umeko. Instead, she immediately rushes at the Nara as soon as the fight starts, throwing a series of punches and kicks that don’t give Umeko time to form hand signs.

As Aya is one of the fastest shinobi in the Senju clan, Tobirama thinks it’s a good strategy for her to use. He leans forward, fascinated by the fight, as she delivers a series of rapid-fire punches, not giving Umeko a chance to use any jutsus. He can see a calculating look in the Nara’s eyes as she tries to think of a way out of this mess, but Aya doesn’t give her a chance to find one.

Mindful of Amaya’s close proximity to him, Tobirama doesn’t cheer with the other omegas as Aya manages to knock Umeko down and wrap a hand around the alpha’s throat. When it becomes clear that Umeko can’t escape the hold, Hashirama declares Aya the winner.

Tobirama checks on Amaya before the next match can begin, placing his hand against her forehead to make sure she isn’t getting too warm. So far, she seems to be doing okay. He thinks she might be getting bored of playing by herself, though, so he picks her up and begins to talk to her quietly.

Like earlier, the mateless alphas seem amused by his behavior while those with children watch him with approving, understanding eyes. A few of the other omegas have brought their children with them as well, not wanting to miss the tournament but unable to find a babysitter. Maybe a civilian would find it odd that they’d brought children to a fighting competition, but ninjas view fighting as a part of life.

Of course, if they thought there was a chance someone would get seriously injured or die, then they wouldn’t have brought their kids with them to see such a thing. Most of them wouldn’t have, anyways. Remembering how much of a soldier his father was, Tobirama has to admit he can’t say for certain that his father wouldn’t have brought him to see a fight to the death, to make it so that his first glimpse of a corpse is not on a battlefield. There have been times when the first sight of death was so shocking to some that it caused them to freeze up, resulting in their own death.

Tobirama can’t entirely fault his father for the way he was raised; some of it was necessary to keep him alive. But war is a terrible thing for a child to experience, and he wishes his father had not forgotten that they were, indeed, just children and not tiny soldiers.

Tobirama blinks as Amaya’s hand pats against his cheek, looking down to see her staring at him with what seems to be concern. His daughter may not be able to understand words yet, but it seems she understands emotions enough to tell when he starts to look sad. He gives her a reassuring smile and kisses her forehead.

His gaze is drawn back to the battlegrounds as Osamu Akimichi and Akio Senju begin to fight. Osamu isn’t really able to use his clan’s techniques without the risk of hitting the audience, so he’s forced to rely mostly on taijutsu and weaponry. Akio, however, could use some earth jutsus if he was so inclined.

Tobirama thinks the omega chooses not to use his earth techniques simply because it would be overkill in a spar when your opponent isn’t using any jutsu. Unfortunately, that turns out to be a mistake as Osamu proves to be formidable at hand-to-hand combat. The Akimichi tend to be front-line fighters, while the Nara and Yamanaka back them up, so it makes sense for Osamu to have such skill at taijutsu.

Tobirama sighs when Osamu wins, disgruntled that more alphas have won their matches than omegas so far. He twitches in surprise as Amaya gives an irritated cry, looking down to see her face scrunched up unhappily. Judging by how high the sun is in the sky, he realizes it’s time for her to eat again. Since she’s begun to eat some solid foods, he gets out the small jar of mashed carrot he brought with him and begins to feed her.

She’s not as fond of the carrot as she was the banana, but she eats most of it, before getting tired of the taste and pushing the spoon away. Uncertain if she’s actually full yet, he holds her up to his chest and feels her begin to drink his milk.

While he’s taking care of Amaya, Naoki Inuzuka and Atsuko Uchiha begin their match. It’s an interesting fight to watch. Naoki is one of the less arrogant members of his clan, with a calm, confident personality. He’s a skilled shinobi, but then, so is Atsuko. The omega not only holds her own against him, she puts him on the defensive.

Naoki is forced to dodge away from Atsuko’s fire jutsus, the omega having enough control to cancel her technique before the fire can reach the audience. Atsuko unsheathes the sword strapped to her hip and shows off her formidable Kenjutsu skills. Naoki attempts several times to knock the sword from her hands, but eventually the fight ends with her sword held up against his neck.

Halfway through the fight between Haruki Yamanaka and Shiori Uchiha, Tobirama notices that Amaya’s forehead is starting to feel a bit too warm. Concerned, he creates a shadow clone to watch the rest of the matches and stands up.

“I’m going to go take Amaya somewhere to cool off,” he says to Madara. “My clone will dispel during the fight before mine, so I have enough time to get back.”

“Alright,” agrees Madara, giving their daughter a concerned glance. “Would you like me to go with you?”

Tobirama pauses, about to say no, then suggests, “You could send a shadow clone with me. The real you needs to stay here, as if anything happens, a clone could too easily be dispelled.”

Madara nods his head and creates a clone, which then follows Tobirama away from the fighting. The shopping district is closer than their house, so Tobirama heads in that direction, stepping into the grocery store.

“Ah, good afternoon, Tobirama,” greets Adeline, the cashier.

Tobirama nods a greeting to her with a slight smile and makes his way further into the store. It’s cooler in the shop than outside, and he can see his daughter relaxing at the more comfortable temperature. She’s actually starting to look a bit sleepy now; normally, she would be taking a nap about this time.

“This tournament is disrupting our normal schedule,” comments Tobirama, frowning.

Madara nods. “She won’t be able to sleep if we take her back to the tournament. The noise would keep her up.”

“There are four fights before mine. I think when my clone dispels, I’ll leave Amaya at the house with you to watch over her. Your original can head back to the house while I fight. It’s unlikely anything will go wrong during my match,” says Tobirama.

“I won’t get to see you fight then,” says Madara, almost pouting.

Tobirama shakes his head in amusement. “If you want, we can spar sometime?”

Madara’s eyes light up as he nods his head. “I’d like that.”

Tobirama purchases a few things at the store, one of them being blueberries. It’s one of his favorite foods, and they’re frequently running out of them at the house. They head back to the house after that, Madara carrying their groceries so that he can hold Amaya.

Once back inside the house, Tobirama gets a washcloth and wets it with cool water. Amaya wrinkles her nose as he gently runs the cloth over her face. His idea works, though, her temperature gradually returning to normal.

He walks the hallway with her, gently bouncing her in his arms. The rocking motion seems to calm her, his quiet humming lulling her into a deep sleep. He slowly lowers Amaya into her crib and sets her stuffed rabbit down next to her. She’s been known to get grumpy if her rabbit isn’t there when she wakes up.

Tobirama makes his way back to the living room and sprawls across the couch, closing his eyes with a quiet sigh. Taking care of a child is tiring, though there are times that make it worth it.

Hearing footsteps approaching, Tobirama opens his eyes to see Madara holding out a plate with a sandwich to him. Sitting up, he accepts the plate with a quiet “Thank you,” and begins to eat.

“You look like you need a nap as well,” comments Madara.

“No, I’ll be fine. I just need to put my feet up for a while, away from the sun and the crowds.”

“They were starting to bug you as well then?” asks Madara, sitting down across from Tobirama.

“Their noise kept bothering Amaya,” he complains. “And I don’t like having so many people near me. I can’t keep track of everyone’s chakra signature when there are so many of them.”

“How strong are your sensing abilities? Are you able to sense emotions?” asks Madara.

“Not yet. I can identify someone by their chakra signature as everyone’s chakra is slightly different. I can tell what someone’s elemental affinity is, and I can usually tell whether someone is feeling hostile. But, I can’t pick up on any other emotions yet,” says Tobirama.

“Impressive,” praises Madara, causing Tobirama to smile. “I can’t sense affinities, but I can tell people apart by their chakra. Can’t sense emotions yet either. What’s your range?”

“While asleep, I’ll sense anyone who approaches the house. Without trying. I know where everyone in this neighborhood is. If I concentrate, my maximum range seems to be the size of Konoha. And, I don’t mean what’s currently built, but to the borders where we’re planning to build to.”

Madara blinks. “You can sense several miles in every direction?”

Tobirama smiles at the startled reaction, pleased that there isn’t any disbelief in Madara’s voice. His mate doesn’t doubt his abilities; he was just surprised by them.

“Yes. I was born with strong sensing abilities, and I’ve practiced over the years to improve them.”

Tobirama takes another bite of his sandwich, wondering what would happen if a shadow clone ate food. Would the food become part of the clone and dispel with it? Or would the chewed up food appear in the air when the clone disappeared?

“I know that look,” says Madara.

“What look?” Tobirama asks, confused.

“That’s the look you get when you’re contemplating the mysteries of the universe. What are you thinking about now?” asks Madara, amused.

Tobirama blinks in surprise. “Well, nothing as profound as the universe right now. I was wondering what would happen if a shadow clone ate food.”

“If a shadow clone ate food?” repeats Madara, bemused.

“Yes. Shadow clones are just temporary. So does the food stay behind when they leave or do they somehow take it with them into nothingness?” wonders Tobirama.

Madara shakes his head in amusement. “I don’t think it really matters, does it?”

Tobirama shrugs. “Maybe not, but the thought popped into my head nonetheless.”

Madara shakes his head again and changes the subject. “You’ll be fighting against one of the Aburame today. How do think he’ll do against you?”

Tobirama’s expression turns thoughtful. “I have more chakra than the average person, meaning I’ll last longer than others would if his bugs land on me. Perhaps enough time to beat him even as the insects drain my chakra. Preferably, though, I’ll find a way to keep them off me.”

“I’m sure you’ll win.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re confident in my abilities, though I imagine the Aburame would take offense at how dismissive you are of his skills.”

Madara shrugs. “Not everyone in this village are what I’d classify as ‘weak,’ but you can’t deny that you, Hashirama, Izuna, and I are four of the strongest shinobi in this country. In fact, I’m certain that most of the people in Fire Country would have trouble keeping up with us.”

“Let’s hope we don’t go to war with another country then,” says Tobirama dryly.

Madara frowns. “I wonder how likely that it. Before, it was just fighting between individual clans. But now, we’ve got an entire village of ninja. If other villages form….”

“Then there’ll be disagreements, at one point or another,” interrupts Tobirama. “Humans can’t seem to get along for very long.”

“Even Hashirama can’t get along with everyone,” agrees Madara. “Though his peaceful nature should lessen the amount of times we go to war.”

“Or he’ll let the other villages run over him in the hope of avoiding a war,” says Tobirama pessimistically. “My brother can be stubborn at the worst times, but he’s also naïve. He won’t necessarily realize he’s being taken advantage of, falling for their lies because he wants to believe the best of people.”

Madara’s expression hardens. “Then we’ll have to make him see sense. With us as his advisors, the enemy will not trick us into lowering our guard.”

The determined words bring a smile to Tobirama’s face. “We’ll make sure this village prospers, and create a safe place for Amaya to grow up.”

Madara nods his agreement and the two sit in companionable silence for a while. He’s feeling more rested by the time his shadow clone dispels, and he says a quick good-bye to Madara before teleporting to the edge of the training grounds.

The real Madara blinks at the sight of him. “Where’s Amaya?”

“She’s back at the house with your clone. It was time for her to take a nap, and the audience would just wake her up again.”

“And I suppose I’ll need to go back to the house to watch her,” guesses Madara. “Hmm. I had been looking forward to seeing you fight.”

Tobirama pauses as a thought suddenly occurs to him. “Well, I had told your clone I could spar with you later, but you could also simply make another shadow clone to watch the match. You have more chakra than I do, after all.”

Madara’s eyes light up at the idea, pleased by the idea of sparring with someone close to his own strength. “That sounds good. I’ll see you after your match, Tobirama.”

“See you later,” agrees Tobirama.

Madara creates a shadow clone and then heads back to the house quickly, not wanting Amaya to only have a shadow clone as a babysitter. There was too much risk of the clone getting dispelled to trust it to watch her alone.

After the original Madara has left, Tobirama reviews his shadow clone’s memories. Shiori Uchiha had won the fight against Haruki Yamanaka by avoiding the alpha’s mind jutsus. They had engaged in a taijutsu battle, and Shiori had managed to knock Haruki unconscious.

Emi Inuzuka and Arata Senju had battled next. Emi was quick on her feet and expertly dodged Arata’s thrown weaponry. The omega had tried to use an earth jutsu to hide underground, but when he had come back up, Emi had managed to guess where he would be and attack him. That fight had ended with her the victor.

The next fight had been between Rina Yamanaka and Nori Uchiha. To his surprise, it had been the Yamanaka to win that fight. It seems that some of them did have a good grasp of hand-to-hand combat. Mostly, the Yamanaka clan have been information gathers, taking missions that require them to get blackmail material for their client. It’ll be interesting to see how the clan’s fighting style changes as they integrate into the village.

Tobirama can tell that the match before his is winding down to a close. Hibiki Akimichi has a few scorch marks from where he wasn’t able to completely dodge Hitomi Uchiha’s fire jutsus. He wonders how the fight would be different if the Akimichi was able to use his family’s techniques. Perhaps, at some later point, the shinobi should be given a chance to have a real spar.

Poisons would still be forbidden, of course, but their more powerful techniques would be allowed. There would be less people in the audience, and definitely no children. And if he decided to attend any of the fights, he would use a shadow clone so there would be no risk of injury to himself from a jutsu missing its target.

The spars didn’t have to be limited to the adults, either. The younger generation could learn a lot from training together, seeing how their own fighting style matched up to one that was completely different from their own. He makes a mental note to mention his idea to Hashirama and focuses his attention back on the current fight.

The match doesn’t last much longer as Hitomi manages to get behind her opponent and hold a kunai up to his neck, causing him to yield the fight to her. The omegas cheer her victory, making Tobirama glad that he left his sleeping infant at home. It was not fun hearing her cry.

Tobirama steps up to the middle of the training grounds and watches his opponent approach. Hiroto Aburame is wearing his clan’s trademark coat with the high collar, which is a bit odd in the middle of summer. How does he not overheat in that thing?

Hashirama calls the match to a start, and Hiroto’s bugs fly out to try and swarm him. Tobirama keeps himself moving and draws out several kunai, flinging them at the alpha. One of the kunai hits, revealing that the Hiroto standing there was just a bug clone.

With his sensing abilities, Tobirama detects Hiroto behind him and lets a few more kunai fly. This time, the weapons are deflected. Engaging the other in hand-to-hand, he can feel a slight tug on his chakra and knows that a few of the insects have landed on him. He can’t spare any attention from blocking Hiroto’s attacks, so he’ll just have to win before his chakra is gone.

After having fought Izuna and sparred with Madara, it’s actually a bit disappointing sparring with Hiroto. The other man isn’t weak, but he’s not on the same level as him. Still, the fight gets his blood pumping, and he knows if the other man was a bit faster, then the fight could last long enough for the bugs to drain his chakra.

Since Hiroto is not fast enough, however, he’s able to knock the other man down and hold a kunai up to his neck before the insects have taken more than a third of his energy. The Aburame yields and he stands up, holding out a hand to help Hiroto up. His help is accepted, showing that the other man doesn’t hold a grudge about losing the fight.

“Okay, now we have to choose who will be fighting whom tomorrow,” announces Hashirama. “Is everyone who won their matches here?”

The ten victors of the second round step forward. Hashirama nods approvingly.

“Alright, at this point, we’ve still got an even number of alphas and omegas. When the number becomes uneven, this tournament will no longer just be alphas vs. omegas. Does anyone have a preference for who they want to fight?” asks Hashirama.

There’s a pause as the contestants glance at each other. Eventually, Kenji raises his hand.

“Yeah, I want to fight Tobirama.”

Hashirama blinks. “You like a challenge then?” he asks teasingly.

Kenji shrugs. “Sometimes. But, I want to fight him because I think it’ll help me create new strategies. When the odds are against you, that’s when the brain works the hardest to figure out ways to survive.”

Many shinobi in the audience nod their heads in agreement, having been in enough life or death battles to know Kenji is right.

“Well, that’s a good enough reason for me. So, we’ve got Kenji Nara vs Tobirama Senju. Anyone else have a preference?.......No? Okay, then, I’ll decide,” says Hashirama. “Let’s see, how about Kaori Aburame vs Atsuko Uchiha?”

The two nod and Hashirama writes their names down on a piece of paper.

“Osamu Akimichi vs Aya Senju. Rina Yamanaka vs Shiori Uchiha. Emi Inuzuka vs Hitomi Uchiha. Any objections?” asks Hashirama.

There aren’t any, so Hashirama wishes them a good day and says that the next round of the tournament will be tomorrow. After that, he walks with Tobirama and Madara back to their house.

“Did you two see Izuna today? He was talking to Natsumi during the tournament and both of them were smiling,” says Hashirama.

Madara nods. “He had dinner with her yesterday. She seems receptive to his romantic advances.”

Hashirama huffs out an amused laugh. “You can’t just say that she seems interested in him? You sound a bit like Tobirama when you talk like that.”

Tobirama raises an enquiring eyebrow. “And what way is that?”

“Unnecessarily fancy and technical,” replies Hashirama. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the way you talk; it’s just not how people usually say things.”

Tobirama considers his words. “I don’t speak that way all the time, do I?”

“No, it’s mostly after you’ve been reading your scientific texts. It’s like those books bring all of the long words you know to the forefront of your mind,” says Hashirama.

“Well, as long as you two can understand me, I don’t see a problem,” says Tobirama after a moment of silence.

Hashirama nods. “I can understand you most of the time; just not when you’re trying to explain the theory behind your new jutsus.”

“Sometimes, I have trouble understanding him as well,” interjects Madara. “I’ve started studying more jutsu theory so that I can keep up with him.”

Tobirama smiles and walks closer to Madara, their shoulders brushing. “And I appreciate that. I like being to able to discuss my research with you.”

“You two are good together,” observes Hashirama. “I’m glad. I worried when I first heard about your bond, but you guys made it work.”

“And, I worried that you’d punch me for bonding to your little brother,” replies Madara. “I’m glad you didn’t, but it would have been worth it to have Tobirama as a mate.”

Tobirama gives him a startled look. “Are we making romantic declarations today? I’m happy to have you as my mate as well. And, it’s a bit odd, but I think I actually prefer being an omega rather than the second gender I was born as.”

“Eh? Really?” asks Hashirama. “I know you didn’t seem to mind the change, but you really prefer being an omega? Did you ever feel like being an alpha wasn’t what you were supposed to be?”

“No, not really. I know I didn’t want someone who acted like the stereotypical omega, passive and submissive. I wanted an equal. But, I never thought I should have been born as one gender instead of the other,” says Tobirama. “I suppose if I looked long enough, I could have found an assertive omega who wasn’t from an enemy clan or just married a beta.”

Hashirama blinks. “You wouldn’t have been able to have children with a beta.”

Tobirama grimaces. “I know, but I wouldn’t have been happy with a mate who couldn’t stand up to me. You know I have a temper sometimes. I couldn’t have handled a mate who cowered when I got angry.”

“Are you sure cowered isn’t an exaggeration?” Madara asks skeptically.

Tobirama shrugs. “Maybe we just haven’t been to the same villages. But, the omega civilians I saw looked like they would cower if I got angry. But, you have to keep in mind that I’m factoring in the fact that I’m a ninja. Many civilians tend to be rather wary of shinobi.”

“They’re afraid of what we can do,” concludes Hashirama. “They’d be less afraid of a fellow civilian who got angry because they could fight back.”

“Wouldn’t a civilian beta have been afraid as well, though?” asks Madara.

“Not as much. Most civilian towns are still rather traditional and old fashioned. They teach the alphas and betas to stand up for themselves, while the omegas are supposed to rely on their mate or alpha and beta family members for protection,” explains Tobirama.

Hashirama frowns. “I hope the civilians in our village will follow our lead and be more open minded.”

“So do I,” agrees Tobirama.

Their conversation comes to a halt as they arrive home, Hashirama bidding them goodbye to go to his own house. The Madara clone dispels as Tobirama steps past the front door, finding the original reading a book on the couch.

“Welcome home,” greets Madara. “You did well in your match.”

“Thank you.” Tobirama sits down next to Madara and leans against him, purring softly at the feeling of safety his instincts give him from being near his alpha. This feeling was one of the reasons he preferred being an omega. Nothing else came close to being as soothing as this.

“You really like to cuddle, don’t you?” asks Madara.

“I guess so. It feels nice. I know there are some who think it a weakness to need physical affection, but humans are social creatures. We survive better in groups, so from an evolutionary point of view, it makes sense. If hugging another person feels good, then you’re more likely to stay in a group, and thus more likely to stay alive. Thus, whatever gene causes you to like physical affection would pass down to your offspring,” explains Tobirama.

“Huh. Sometimes, I can’t tell if you just like having someone who will listen to your scientific explanations, or if you’re using them as a defense. Trying to explain your needs away as something scientific that you can’t help,” muses Madara.

Tobirama tries not to blush. “A little bit of both? I like to talk about my research, but I also get a bit defensive when someone points out a possible weakness about myself, something that others might mock. My father thought hugs were unnecessary, and considered it to be coddling your children to hug them past a certain age.”

“Well, I don’t. In this world, you never know when you’ll meet your end. There’s nothing wrong with making sure the people you care for know that they’re loved. And if anyone says something stupid, break their nose to shut them up.”

Startled, Tobirama lets out a short laugh. “I think that would cause more problems than it solves, but thank you.”

The rest of their evening is spent cuddling on the couch, each of them reading a book. Once it’s late enough, they check up on Amaya before heading to bed.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

“We’re going to be late,” complains Madara, frowning at the clock.

Tobirama rolls his eyes and continues mashing up a sweet potato for Amaya. They had woken up a bit later than intended and were now rushing to get ready.

“Being a few minutes late won’t kill us. And if you say we should have done this last night, _again_ , I will throw this potato at your head,” threatens Tobirama.

Madara’s mouth snaps closed. Tobirama nods in satisfaction, scooping the mashed vegetable into a container. He makes sure they have everything they need and grabs their bag, Madara holding Amaya as they walk out the door.

As they head to the training ground, Tobirama sees Madara occasionally glance at him. The bond gives him a sense of worry from the other man.

Puzzled, he asks, “What’s wrong?”

Madara shrugs, uncomfortable. “Earlier, I wasn’t trying to irritate you.”

Ah, so that’s what this was about. His mate wanted to apologize but didn’t know how.

“It’s fine,” reassures Tobirama. “I know you just didn’t want to miss any of the fighting. Still, I’m sure there will be plenty of opportunities for you to watch Konoha nin spar in the future.”

Madara nods.

They arrive in the middle of the first match, Osamu Akimichi vs Aya Senju. So far, they seem relatively evenly matched. Aya has a few bruises from Osamu’s attacks, while the alpha has a few shallowly bleeding cuts. Tobirama believes Osamu to be physically stronger than Aya, while the omega is faster than him.

The battle eventually ends in Aya’s favor as she gets behind the alpha and lands a kick behind his knees, knocking him down to the ground. Before Osamu can recover, Aya holds a kunai to his throat, effectively ending their battle.

Tobirama has never seen a baby’s face look _resigned_ before, but that’s exactly the expression Amaya makes as the crowd once again starts cheering. He actually sees Madara blink in surprise when he notices the face their daughter makes.

“Do babies usually have this kind of range of emotion?” asks Madara.

Tobirama shrugs. “I think every baby is different, but she could be developing faster. Ninja children usually do.”

“And she does have you, the genius, as her father,” praises Madara.

Tobirama smiles but doesn’t have much of a reaction to the compliment. Having been called a genius most of his life, it no longer gives him warm, fuzzy feelings to hear it. However, having someone doubt his intelligence can still make him irritated.

“It’ll be interesting to see how she turns out,” muses Tobirama. “You’re above average intelligence as well. If she inherits our strength and smarts, she could be one of the strongest shinobi in this country.”

He talks quietly, not wanting the surrounding ninja to hear and accuse him of bragging. He was sure some of their children would turn out to be exceptional as well, but it was natural for a parent to think their child would be the best. The bravest, the smartest, the strongest, etc.

Parents who assumed their children would be the worst at something were unnatural, in his opinion. It was also a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you told your kid that they were stupid, weak, or too emotional, then that’s exactly what they would become. They wouldn’t know how to be anything else. Negative reinforcement rarely caused someone to improve, especially children.

The next fight is between Kaori Aburame and Atsuko Uchiha. The omega keeps her distance in the beginning, using fire jutsu and throwing shuriken, unwilling to get close enough for the chakra draining bugs to land on her. And, at first, it seems like her plan is working as Kaori doesn’t try to get closer and no swarm of bugs fly out from her clothing. However, it becomes clear later on that Kaori is using stealth to achieve victory.

Instead of sending out dozens of bugs at a time, Kaori had just a few of her insects sneak forward at a time, hidden amongst the grass. The bugs would then crawl onto Atsuko, not draining her chakra until there were enough of them to make a difference. When Atsuko finally noticed and began trying to remove the bugs, Kaori surged forward and began to throw a series of punches and kicks.

Atsuko was then forced to dodge and block the attacks, not giving her the opportunity to deal with the insects. Thus, the omega’s chakra slowly drained away, causing her to tire out. Kaori takes advantage of Atsuko’s slower response time and lands several good hits, knocking the omega down. The fight ends when Kaori places her foot against Atsuko’s neck, forcing the omega to reluctantly yield.

“1 to 1,” comments Madara. “I wonder whether they’ll be more omega or alpha victors this time, now that it isn’t possible for it to be an even split.”

Tobirama shrugs, but Madara isn’t really looking for an answer anyways. Their attention turns back to the battlefield as Rina Yamanaka and Shiori Uchiha step up. By this point, Rina knows that her family’s mind techniques aren’t going to work and so she doesn’t even bother wasting her chakra with them. Instead, she relies on her taijutsu and thrown weaponry.

Shiori uses his sharingan to keep track of her movements and comes close to singing her with his fire techniques. Rina manages to dodge most of his attacks until he uses shuriken with ninja wire attached. She doesn’t notice until it’s too late and the wire is wrapped around her arms and torso. If she tries to break free, the wire will cut into her skin. And, before she can figure out a way to escape, Shiori comes up and holds a kunai to her neck.

“And Shiori is the winner!” calls out Hashirama. “Next up, Emi Inuzuka vs Hitomi Uchiha. Good luck!”

“He seems cheerful this morning,” comments Madara.

“I think he’s actually enjoying being the judge of this tournament,” says Tobirama. “Or perhaps he’s happy that so many people’s eyes are being opened to the reality that omegas are just as competent as alphas.”

“Hmm. That does seem like something he’d like. He’s all about peace and equality. A friendly tournament to further understanding between the sexes,” replies Madara.

Tobirama nods in agreement and they go back to watching the fight. Emi Inuzuka is skilled at taijutsu and capable of moving quickly even without her clan’s fang over fang technique. And although Hitomi isn’t as good at taijutsu, she’s got more talent at kenjutsu. If Emi wasn’t as fast as she is, Hitomi’s thrown shuriken would have hit several vital points.

It was a bit of a surprise when Emi pulled out a smoke pellet and flooded the battlefield with smoke. None of the others had tried something like that, and perhaps with good reason as those with families pulled their children back away from the smoke. As Madara is still holding Amaya, he follows his mate to a safe distance. As she isn’t coughing, he concludes that they were able to get her away from the smoke before it could reach her. Good. He won’t have to kill Emi for causing his daughter harm then.

Away from the potential danger, they listen to the sounds from the obscured battlefield until the smoke clears away to reveal Emi standing over an unconscious Hitomi. It’s a testament to how disgruntled the audience was by her stunt that less than half of the alphas cheer her victory. However, Tobirama is sure they won’t stay irritated for very long as the smoke wasn’t truly dangerous. Not in such an open area, anyways. In an enclosed room, it would have been harmful to the lungs, especially to the children.

“Okay, then, it looks like Emi is the winner. Next up: Tobirama Senju vs Kenji Nara,” announces Hashirama.

Tobirama steps forward, a bit amused by the calculating glint in Kenji’s eyes. Clearly, the Nara intended to take their fight seriously. Then so would he.

As soon as the fight begins, Tobirama unsheathes his sword and uses it to deflect Kenji’s thrown kunai. Not waiting for the alpha’s next move, he darts forward, keeping an eye on Kenji’s hands. When the other begins to form hand signs, he moves away from Kenji’s shadow. It follows him around the battleground, but he manages to stay out of reach.

He’s never battled a Nara before, so it’s an interesting experience. Sending a barrage of kunai at the other, he notices Kenji’s shadow returns to its original length as soon as the Nara’s hands separate. It seems that he has to keep the hand sign formed to control the shadows.

While flinging projectile weaponry at the dodging Nara, Tobirama tries to come up with a plan. He can’t use anything that has too much risk of hitting the audience. Weapons don’t count because of how simple they are for a competent shinobi to deflect.

Most of his ninjutsu are out of the question, but perhaps a low level water whip would work. He should have enough control over it to not hit the audience. Quickly forming hand signs, he pulls water from the air and directs it to strike Kenji.

Predictably, the Nara tries to dodge, but he just keeps turning the stream of water towards Kenji. Frustration flashes across the alpha’s face before Kenji begins forming his own hand signs. It’s a little bit tricky trying to control the water while also dodging the shadows, but he eventually manages to hit Kenji. The force of the water causes Kenji to stagger back, and Tobirama uses this opportunity to dart forward.

With how fast he is, Kenji has just managed to bring his hands back together when Tobirama reaches him, bringing his sword up to lightly press the tip against Kenji’s throat. Eyes wide, the alpha takes a step back, Tobirama stepping forward to keep the sword against skin.

Judging by the look in the alpha’s eyes, Kenji is trying to come up with a plan. Either he doesn’t succeed or he decides it’s not worth the effort because Kenji’s next action is to yield their fight.

Well, it wasn’t an epic showdown where each opponent came precariously close to dying several times, but he had fun nonetheless.

“An interesting battle,” comments Kenji. “I believe sparring with you on occasion would help keep me on my toes.”

Tobirama considers it, then nods. “Yes, I agree it would be beneficial for the both of us. We can discuss when later.”

The two exit the battlefield as Hashirama begins speaking. “Alright, everyone. The third round of the tournament is now over, and we’re going to have a one hour lunch break before we move onto the fourth round.”

Tobirama sits down next to Madara and begins unpacking their lunch items. They’ve each got a sandwich, and he’s got a cup of blueberries while Madara has strawberries. And for Amaya, he’s got her jar of mashed sweet potato.

“I want to try feeding her this time,” says Madara.

In the middle of opening the jar, Tobirama pauses, then shrugs and hands it over. Normally, he’s the one to feed her because he also breastfeeds her. But this way, he can eat his sandwich while Madara feeds her the potato. If she’s still hungry after that, he’ll give her milk.

As he munches on his sandwich, he watches his mate feed their daughter, finding it adorable the way she scrunches up her nose at her first taste of sweet potato. Apparently, she deems it acceptable because she lets Madara feed her another spoonful.

“What do you think we should try to feed her next?” asks Madara.

Tobirama mentally goes through a list of vegetables then suggests, “Green beans? She needs to learn to like some kind of green vegetable.”

“Okay, we’ll try that next,” agrees Madara.

Tobirama nods and glances around, watching people from different clans share a meal together, marveling at the peaceful atmosphere. This was not a scene he could have imagined when he was younger, but he was starting to understand Hashirama’s vision of peace.

Izuna is sitting with Natsumi, chatting away. And as he watches them, she leans forward and kisses his cheek, causing him to stare at her besottedly. It’s funny to watch his former enemy act so love-struck.

Next, he spots Kenji Nara sitting next to Yakao Uchiha. He’s not certain, but it almost looks like the alpha is flirting with Yakao. How odd. A Nara and an Uchiha. If that relationship works out, he wonders what their children will be like. A Nara’s intelligence with the stubbornness of an Uchiha.

“Is that Nara flirting with my clansmen?” asks Madara, noticing where his gaze is pointed.

“It certainly seems that way. Do you think your clan will have a problem with it?” asks Tobirama.

Madara shakes his head. “No. Our clan hasn’t had that much conflict with the Nara clan. And considering that that clan is known for producing geniuses, any children they have would be considered a positive addition to the Uchiha clan.”

With that said, Madara goes back to feeding Amaya. However, their daughter stubbornly closes her mouth and turns her head away when he holds the spoon up. Madara frowns in confusion.

“You can’t be full already. You’ve only eaten a few bites,” protests Madara.

In reply, Amaya holds her hands out to Tobirama with a demanding cry. Tobirama obligingly picks her up and holds her to his breast, amused when she begins drinking milk.

“It looks like she’s feeling fussy today,” remarks Tobirama. “We can try again with the soft food later.”

Madara gives a short sigh and nods. “Children can be really finicky, huh?”

With his hands now free, Madara begins eating while Tobirama finishes his sandwich one handed. He eyes the cup of blueberries, wondering if he can spoon them out without knocking the container over. Apparently noticing his dilemma, Madara picks up the cup, scoops up the blueberries, and holds the spoon up to his mouth.

Heat rises to his face as Tobirama overhears several people gushing about how romantic they’re acting and what a cute couple they are. Tuning them out, he opens his mouth for the blueberries, wondering when Madara decided to be affectionate in public.

Still, the fact that no one seems to be mocking them keeps his embarrassment to a minimum. Even the macho alphas look more amused than anything. In fact, they seem to approve of Madara’s actions, perhaps because a ‘proper’ alpha takes care of his omega.

“Looks like the lunch hour is almost up,” says Madara as Hashirama walks up to the center of the field.

“Okay, everyone, now that we’ve all been fed, it’s time for the fourth round of the tournament,” announces Hashirama. “We have three omegas and two alphas left, so someone’s going to end up fighting twice, or three times if they win both their matches. If none of the fights go on too long, we should be able to finish up today. The first fight will be between Shiori Uchiha and Emi Inuzuka.”

Tobirama watches the fight with interest. Having come this far, Shiori seems to be one of the strongest omegas in the Uchiha clan. As the daughter of the Inuzuka clan head, Emi is a skilled warrior as well.

Having fought Mei in one of the previous matches, Tobirama can see that Emi has a similar strength of will. She doesn’t falter when Shiori starts to gain the upper hand, keeping a cool head as she devises a new strategy. Considering how rambunctious most of the Inuzuka clan is, it’s actually a bit unusual just how calm Emi is.

But that Zen state of mind serves her well when she defeats Shiori. The alphas cheer and Tobirama soothingly rubs Amaya’s back as she begins to get grumpy. He’s glad that the tournament is almost over, so that Amaya won’t have to deal with this any longer.

It’s his turn to fight now, so he hands Amaya over to Madara, surprised when she starts screaming and reaching out to him. Obviously, she didn’t appreciate being given to someone else, even her other parent. However, it’s not as though he could take her with him onto the battle grounds. Thinking quickly, he creates a shadow clone to watch her while he fights.

Amaya glances between him and the clone, suspicious about the appearance of a second ‘him.’ After a moment, she deems the clone acceptable and quiets down. Relieved, he goes to the center of the training grounds to begin his spar with Kaori Aburame.

The alpha wastes no time in sending her bugs out, a large swarm rapidly approaching him from land and sky. He’s starting to get irritated by all these insects. Just how many kikaichu does each Aburame have?

Gathering his chakra, Tobirama creates a sphere of water around himself and pushes it outwards. Most of the bugs get caught in the sphere and drown. He notices that Kaori looks a bit disgruntled at the loss of her swarm but he doesn’t care. If she didn’t want to lose her bugs, then she shouldn’t use them in a spar. Besides, insects grew quickly. Her hive would be thriving again in no time.

Now that the chakra draining pests were out of the way, Tobirama engaged Kaori in a hand-to-hand spar. The alpha had talent to have come this far, but he’s better. It doesn’t take more than another ten minutes before he’s got her pinned to the ground, Hashirama announcing his victory a moment later.

Heading back over to Madara, he takes Amaya back from his clone and dispels it. Amaya’s nose scrunches up, staring at him in confusion. She doesn’t seem to know what to think of his shadow clones, but at least she isn’t screaming again.

“So, is it normal for an infant to prefer one parent over the other?” asks Madara.

Tobirama studies Madara’s expression, but his mate doesn’t _seem_ upset. That doesn’t mean much for a ninja, though. The bond, on the other hand, lets him know exactly what his mate is feeling. Surprise, amusement, a little bit disconcerted.

“I don’t know,” answers Tobirama. “She doesn’t always cry for me when you hold her. The few times she did before this was because she was hungry.”

“She associates you with food,” says Madara. “Or rather, you’re the one who makes her stomach stop hurting. A source of comfort.”

“And so when the crowd upset her, she instinctively wanted the one who had made her feel better in the past,” concludes Tobirama.

Madara seems to relax as they figure out a reason for Amaya’s behavior that isn’t favoritism. With that problem solved, they turn their attention to the current match: Aya Senju vs Emi Inuzuka.

Even without using her family’s techniques, Emi is just fast enough to keep up with Aya’s lightning fast strikes. And unfortunately for Aya, Emi is stronger. Once the alpha gets a hold on her, Aya can’t struggle free.

This time when he gives Amaya to Madara, she accepts the exchange quietly, though she does give him kind of a pouty look. She was remarkably expressive for a baby, or at least he thinks she is. He’s not been around many other children her age.

Tobirama approaches the battlefield as Aya is leaving, giving her a short nod as they pass. She did well in her matches and he felt proud that one of his clansmen came this far in the tournament. In fact, it may not be a bad idea to spar with her later.

Settling into a fighting stance, Tobirama waits for Hashirama to give the signal. As soon as he does, Emi rushes forward, apparently trying to get him off balance with the suddenness of her movements. But speed is his area of expertise, and he doesn’t have any trouble keeping up with her.

Their spar ends up being mostly taijutsu with a few weapons thrown in. Both of them get a few shallow cuts throughout the fight as well as bruises when the other wasn’t able to dodge. But after having fought and won against Mei, he isn’t about to lose to her daughter.

Quite frankly, he’s ready for this tournament to be _over._ It’s achieved its purpose of showing the arrogant alphas just how capable fully trained omegas are, and he’s tired of sitting in the heat all day.

With a renewed sense of determination, Tobirama increases the speed of his attacks, taking Emi off guard. Noticing an opening in her defense, he strikes, knocking her off balance. She falls and he lunges, holding a kunai to her throat.

Emi glares up at him, a reluctantly impressed expression in her eyes. After a moment, she concedes defeat, and he offers her a hand up. Not one to be a sore loser, she accepts his help.

“And that’s the end of the first ever alpha vs. omega tournament!” declares Hashirama. “In first place, we have Tobirama Senju. Second place goes to Emi Inzuka. And third place is Aya Senju. These three will receive some kind of Mokuton furniture from me. I can create tables, cabinets, dressers, chairs, and bedframes. Just let me know what you want and I’ll have it created within the week.”

“Isn’t half our furniture created by Hashirama anyways?” asks Madara in amusement.

“It is. We only have a few things from the old house now,” replies Tobirama.

Originally, _most_ of their stuff had been from one of their previous homes, except for what was part of the house, like the cabinets. However, Hashirama had quickly discovered that he liked creating furniture with his Mokuton, something that was vastly different than using it on the battlefield to hurt others. So now, their house had gone through something of a renovation as Hashirama slowly replaced their furniture with his own creations.

“It’s probably why he decided to give the second and third places a prize as well. As his brother, you don’t need to win a tournament to get furniture from him. The other two don’t have the same opportunity,” says Madara.

Tobirama hums in agreement. “They probably could if they asked, though. Hashirama is nice like that. Perhaps he should start a furniture store.”

Madara actually seems to consider the idea, to his surprise. “He’s too busy to run a store. But he could make furniture for a civilian to sell, split the profits.”

Tobirama almost laughs. A ninja creating furniture for a store? But then, why not? His brother helped create an entire village. Nothing about the way they live now is exactly as it was.

“Maybe. He might even like the idea. It could be a good hobby for him,” says Tobirama.

Hashirama chooses this moment to come over, having finished getting Aya and Emi’s requests.

“A hobby for who?” asks Hashirama. “What are we talking about?”

“We’re talking about how nosey you are,” Madara says to see the other pout.

“So mean, Madara,” sighs Hashirama.

Tobirama laughs. “What do you think of owning a furniture store?”

Hashirama blinks, caught off guard. “A furniture store? Huh. Could be fun, I guess. I like making things, but I don’t think I’d have time to actually run it, especially now that people have started talking about putting me in charge of running _the entire village._ ”

His brother sounds kind of awed about that, but what did he expect? Konoha was Hashirama’s idea, his dream of peace. Who better to lead these people?

“We were thinking someone else could take care of running the shop; you’d just create the products. You’d split the profit with whoever co-owned the store with you,” explains Tobirama.

“Also, don’t think you’ll be running this village by yourself. The people may elect you leader, but we’ll be your advisors. Plus maybe one of the Nara. They’re good at planning things,” says Madara.

Hashirama grins. “Thank you for your support. I’ll give some thought to the store idea. It could be fun.”

“Okay. Then if there’s nothing else, I think Madara and I should be heading home now. Amaya needs time to unwind before bed, away from the crowds.”

“Sure. I’ll see you guys later. I’m going to ask Izuna how things are going with Natsumi before retiring for the night. I’ll visit tomorrow to share the news,” replies Hashirama.

Madara glances over at Izuna, half looking like he wants to join Hashirama in asking about his brother’s love life. However, Amaya comes first.

“See you tomorrow,” Madara says before walking home with Tobirama.

Once inside the house, Tobirama hums thoughtfully as his gaze rests on Amaya. “I think she needs a bath before bed.”

Madara’s lips twitch in amusement. “She’s going to love that. I wouldn’t be surprised if she ends up with a water affinity like you.”

Tobirama smiles as he fills the sink with warm water. Amaya absolutely loved getting baths, and it was difficult getting her not to cry when they took her out of the water.

“The water’s ready.”

Madara brings her over and Amaya squeals in glee as he lowers her into the sink. She immediately starts splashing, and they work around her flailing limbs to get her washed up. After that, they let her soak for a while, amused that such a small thing makes her this happy.

When the water gets cold, Tobirama considers taking her out like normal, except….she’s had a long day. She deserved a treat for putting up with the crowds for as long as she did. So instead, he uses his chakra to heat the water back up.

Amaya blinks in surprise as the water gets warmer then starts giggling. She knows by now that cold water means she has to get out, so she’s delighted that bath time isn’t over yet.

Eventually, though, they have to worry about her skin getting wrinkly. Madara fetches her towel and rattle, using the noise to distract her while Tobirama wraps her up. She fusses a bit when they take her out, but doesn’t scream this time, apparently satisfied by the longer bath time.

“Come on, little one, let’s get you dried off,” murmurs Tobirama, taking her into the bedroom to get out her sleepwear.

Amaya blinks at him sleepily as he dresses her, finally having run out of energy. She yawns cutely and closes her eyes when he begins to hum her lullaby.

After he’s managed to get her to sleep, he joins Madara in the kitchen, helping him wash up the dishes they had used this afternoon. Mika weaves in between their feet the entire time, practically asking to get stepped on. When they’re finished cleaning, he dries his hands and picks her up, causing her to purr as he finally gives her the attention she’s been demanding.

“That is one needy cat,” comments Madara.

“Sometimes strays are more affectionate, but I think she just missed us. She should be happy now that we won’t be gone all day,” says Tobirama.

He takes the cat with him to the living room and sits down on the couch. Madara grabs one of the board games from the shelf and holds it up for him to see.

“Care for a relaxing game of Shogi?” asks Madara with a slight smirk.

Tobirama stifles a laugh, lips twitching. He doesn’t want the noise to wake Amaya, but Madara’s question was hilarious. There was nothing “relaxing” about their games. The last time they had played, Madara had lost and proceeded to throw the pieces at him.

For some reason, he had thought it a good idea to fling the pieces right back. It had taken them an hour to find everything when they were done, some landing under the couch, on top of the ceiling fan, and even behind the bookcase. He’s still confused about how it ended up there.

“There is nothing relaxing about playing Shogi with you,” says Tobirama.

Against his better judgement, he agrees anyways. He has to keep Mika away from the board, distracting her with head scratches so she doesn’t knock the pieces over. This time, Madara accepts his loss with minor grumbling, not wanting to wake Amaya up by complaining loudly.

Honestly, he doesn’t know why Madara is surprised that Tobirama wins more than half their Shogi matches. Out of the two of them, he is the one with the more strategic mind. Madara isn’t stupid by any means, but he has to study longer than Tobirama does to understand the same concept.

That’s true for most people that Tobirama has met, though. Madara does a better job of keeping up with him than most of his peers. And even if his mate doesn’t understand something he’s saying, he still _listens._ Active listening; not that glazed eyes, smile and nod listening. Madara tries to understand what he’s saying and will ask questions until he understands.

He wonders if his mate understood how much he appreciated that about him. Had he ever told Madara that? Emotions could be difficult to talk about, especially when you grew up in a war.

“What are you thinking about?” asks Madara. “Your emotions got really pensive, and I didn’t even think that was an emotion until bonding to you.”

Tobirama cracks a smile. “Funny, I was just thinking about emotion. About how difficult they are to talk about, even when they’re positive.”

He adds that last part so that Madara doesn’t start to worry.

Madara tilts his head. “There’s something you want to talk about?”

Tobirama rubs the back of his head. “Well, I wanted you to know that I appreciate you.”

Madara blinks, startled. Then a pleased smile crosses his face. “I appreciate you too, but was there something in particular you were thinking of?”

“You make an effort to understand me,” explains Tobirama. “If I start rambling about my experiments, you don’t tune me out and just pretend to listen.”

“I guess people have done that to you in the past?”

“Yes. There are a few people in the clan like me, interested in jutsu theory, fuinjutsu, and just science in general. So I’ve been able to talk about my research with them, but the rest of the clan just gets confused. It’s more frustrating when Hashirama doesn’t understand me, though.”

“Because it makes it more difficult to connect with him?” guesses Madara.

Tobirama nods. “Hashirama and I also view the world differently. It wasn’t always easy talking to him as a child. We get along better now. Hashirama has a better understanding of the world. He’s still optimistic, but a bit less naïve. Also, I think he tries more to understand me, not the science stuff, but the way I view people and situations.”

“You mean your realistic view of people that Hashirama thinks is a bit pessimistic?” asks Madara.

Tobirama nearly rolls his eyes. “Yes, that. He used to get annoyed when I would point out flaws in his plans. Then he realized I wasn’t trying to insult him, but to help him come up with a plan that would actually work.”

Madara hums thoughtfully. “He likes to believe the best in people, and that gives him blind spots when it comes to anticipating how someone will actually act. I think the two of you work well together. You keep him realistic, and he keeps you from turning pessimistic.”

“I suppose we do,” agrees Tobirama.

They talk for a little while longer before heading to bed. Both of them know better than to stay up late with an unpredictable baby who could wake up anytime during the night. If they’re lucky, she’ll sleep until morning.

* * *

Tobirama is woken up just after sunrise by the sound of Amaya crying. Beside him, Madara blearily opens his eyes and stares at the ceiling blankly. He pats the other’s arm sympathetically. Madara was most definitely not a morning person.

“It’s alright, Madara. You can go back to sleep while I feed Amaya.”

Madara looks at him gratefully and closes his eyes, almost immediately falling back asleep. In the beginning, Madara had tried to protest and get up at the same time he did, but his mate wasn’t able to cope as easily as he could with waking up early. If Tobirama got tired later, he could take a nap, but Madara would be irritable the rest of the day if his sleep was cut short. It was easier on both of them if he just lets Madara sleep in.

After feeding Amaya, he sets her down on her playmate and creates a clone to go check on the garden. A part of him wonders if he shouldn’t be creating clones in front of her. Who knows how this would affect her. Would she grow up thinking there were two of him, one of which who could appear and disappear at will? He didn’t know how old she would be before she could understand the concept of a shadow clone.

Once Amaya is distracted playing with her toys, he puts food in Mika’s dish and begins to prepare breakfast. He’s nearly done when he hears a knock on the door. Turning down the heat so it doesn’t burn, he lets Hashirama into the house.

“Yesterday, when you said you were coming over today, I didn’t think you meant this early,” says Tobirama.

Hashirama chuckles. “Good morning to you too, Tobirama.”

He rolls his eyes and throws out a “Good morning” to make his brother happy.

“Sorry about the early hour, but I was just full of energy this morning and couldn’t sleep in. I know you get up early to feed Amaya, so I figured I wouldn’t be waking you up if I came over.”

“You didn’t,” confirms Tobirama. “But you could have woken up Madara. He hates getting up early.”

Hashirama winces, not wanting to be on the receiving end of Madara’s ire. “He’s still asleep, though?”

“Yes, his chakra is still calm. The way chakra flows is different when someone is awake, more alert. Right now, it’s still flowing slowly.”

Hashirama gives him a curious look, not having heard someone describe chakra that way before. “You’re really in tune with the way chakra flows, aren’t you?”

Tobirama shrugs. “I suppose so. My abilities have improved over the years, but I’ve always been able to sense chakra to some degree, so I’m not entirely sure how others perceive chakra differently than I do.”

Hashirama doesn’t have anything to say to that, so Tobirama heads back to the kitchen and finishes cooking. As he’s setting the plates on the table, he can hear his brother begin to quietly talk to Amaya, the baby letting out an occasional giggle.

After making tea for the three of them, he goes to wake up Madara. His mate frowns and looks like he wants to go back to sleep, but is lured to the kitchen by the smell of food. The slight caffeine in his tea seems to help Madara wake up and by the time they’ve finished eating, his alpha is looking much more alert.

“So, Hashirama, what did you find out from Izuna?” asks Tobirama after they’ve seated themselves at the couch.

Hashirama grins. “Natsumi has agreed to let Izuna court her! They went on their first official date a couple days ago. Also, it seems that Izuna has been helping Natsumi improve her taijutsu skills, which has made her quite happy.”

“I wonder if it’s too soon to invite her to a family dinner,” says Madara. “I’d like to meet the woman my brother is so infatuated by.”

“It might be better to wait a few weeks,” replies Tobirama. “Most people don’t go to family dinners after just the first date.”

“And you might accidently scare her off if you start interrogating her,” says Hashirama.

Madara frowns. “Would she actually stop dating him because of that?”

“It depends on how you ask her questions. Wanting to get to know your brother’s girlfriend is one thing, but don’t act like you’re trying to figure out if she’s ‘good enough’ for Izuna. People don’t like that,” explains Hashirama.

Madara nods, looking thoughtful. His social skills weren’t always the best, so sometimes Hashirama had to give him advice on how to deal with people.

“Perhaps you should be here when we eventually invite her to dinner,” suggests Tobirama to Hashirama. “You’re good at getting people to talk to you.”

“Sure. I’d like to meet Natsumi as well. From what Izuna says, she’s a kind woman with an inner core of steel,” says Hashirama.

“An inner core of steel?” asks Madara.

“Yes. Natsumi refuses to just go with the status quo when it disagrees with her belief system. She wanted to learn how to be a ninja, even though her clan was reluctant to let her learn. The tournament has made it easier for her, but she would have found some way to convince her clan,” explains Hashirama.

“She sounds a bit like you,” says Tobirama, looking at Hashirama. “You wanted to build a peaceful village and refused to let the negative opinions of others dissuade you from your goal.”

“You think so?” asks Hashirama in surprise, gaining a thoughtful expression. “She does sound as determined as me.”

“Good,” states Madara. “Izuna needs a girlfriend with a spine. I know some shinobi will marry civilians, but they don’t tend to understand our lifestyle very well. It’s good that he found someone who can not only handle being with a ninja, but who wants to become one as well.”

The three of them discuss Izuna’s developing relationship with Natsumi for a while longer, deciding on a few possible days that they could invite her to dinner if the relationship lasted that long. Towards the end of the conversation, his shadow clone dispels, causing him to remember his earlier worries.

“Do you think I should stop creating clones in front of Amaya?”

Surprise crosses both of their expressions before they glance down at Amaya. The baby notices their stares and laughs, waving her rattle at them.

“She’s still learning about the world, trying to figure things out. If she keeps seeing me create copies of myself, who knows what conclusions she’ll come up with?” asks Tobirama.

“That could be a legitimate concern,” agrees Hashirama. “But there really isn’t any way of knowing how it’ll affect her. Since she’s so young, you could stop creating clones in front of her, and she’ll forget she ever saw two of you.”

“Then to be safe, we should have a no clones in front of Amaya rule,” says Tobirama.

Madara nods. “Agreed.”

Their conversation gradually winds to a close and Hashirama bids them goodbye to get on with his day. Now that the tournament is over, his brother will go back to helping the villagers get settled into their new homes. He’s been visiting everyone that moves in and making sure that they have everything they need. Because of it, Hashirama has become quite popular among Konoha’s citizens. Tobirama doesn’t have any doubt that his brother will be elected the village’s leader.

The rest of their day is pretty quiet. Amaya tries to learn how to crawl early, wanting to be closer to the cat. However, Amaya’s muscles aren’t developed enough for that and Mika is still too wary of the baby to get within grabbing reach. It makes Amaya pout, but she cheers up later when she has to get a bath for making a mess with her dinner.

Rather than play a board game tonight after Amaya has gone to bed, Madara reads a book while Tobirama continues researching. In his quest to perfect the omega-to-alpha jutsu, Tobirama has discovered a liking for medical jutsu. The human body is absolutely fascinating, the way a deficiency in just one nutrient can throw your entire system out of balance. He doesn’t think he’ll want to be a medic nin full-time, but working at the hospital a few days a week could be good. It’ll have to wait until Amaya is a few years older, though.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

Tobirama frowns at the door, trying to will Madara to magically appear and walk through it. His mate should have been home yesterday. Obviously, some kind of delay must have happened on his mission.

He looks down at Amaya and sighs. “He’s going to be late, isn’t he?”

She blinks at him. “Papa?”

His lips quirk up into a smile. “Yeah, your papa. He might be late to your first birthday party. But he’s still got until this afternoon to get back here.”

Amaya looks at the door and frowns. “Papa no here. Want papa.”

“I know, darling. I want him to be here too. With any luck, he should be here soon.”

Amaya looks dubious. She’s still too young to understand why Madara has to leave a few days out of the week to go on missions.

“Don’t worry so much, Amaya. Why don’t you go play with Mika?”

Her face lights up. “Kitty?”

She slowly stumbles off into the living room, almost falling down a few times.

“Remember to pet her gently, Amaya. Gently!” he calls after her.

“O-kay, dada! Me pet kitty, gen-ty.”

Tobirama bites back a laugh, not wanting Amaya to think he’s making fun of her. It was adorable how she had trouble pronouncing her L’s.

Now that his daughter is distracted, he can go back to preparing for her party. The cake was already in the oven and now he just had to put together the snacks. A vegetable and fruit tray for the health-conscious, and some sandwiches for those who needed something more filling.

With that taken care of, he begins to decorate. He hangs a length of cloth on the wall with the words “Happy Birthday, Amaya” painted on. It’s a newer tradition the civilian have begun to implement that he thought he would try. He wants his daughter to understand that her birthday is something to celebrate. Her birth was one of the best days of his life, despite how uncomfortable the actual birthing process was.

He puts a nice table cloth on the table and lays out the food. Then he stretches out his senses for the fifth time that day, trying to see if he can detect Madara’s chakra. His eyes light up when he senses Madara just a few miles from the village and fast approaching.

“Looks like he’s not going to be late after all.”

At the sound of his voice, Amaya stops petting Mika to stare at him. She doesn’t have much of a reaction beyond that, so perhaps she didn’t understand what he said.

“Papa is coming home, Amaya. He’ll be here soon.”

Amaya stares at the door expectantly, understanding the words ‘home’ and ‘papa.’ He chuckles at her impatience.

“Soon, Amaya. He’s right outside the village and walking here now. I know you don’t understand time very well yet, but he’ll be here within the hour.”

Amaya frowns at him, a bit of a pout forming. Next time, he’ll avoid saying anything until Madara is right outside the house.

“Just play with Mika or your toys until he gets here, okay?” he suggests.

Amaya gives one last longing glance to the door before crawling over to her play mat to get her stuffed bunny. Her legs were still a little wobbly when she walked, so sometimes she chose to crawl. It got her to her destination faster, but she seemed to prefer walking as that was how everyone around her moved from place to place.

There isn’t much left for him to do, just setting plates next to the snacks and preparing drinks. After that, it’s just a matter of waiting.

Hashirama and Izuna arrives first as they live right next door. Izuna has brought his girlfriend, Natsumi, with him, but Hashirama’s maybe-girlfriend is still living in Whirlpool.

After meeting with a few omegas in Whirlpool, his brother and a woman named Mito had immediately taken a liking to each other. So far, they had exchanged several letters and Mito was planning to move to Konoha in a few months so that Hashirama could court her properly.

Amaya lets out a delighted squeal when she sees them come inside. “Unca ‘ashi! Unca Izu!”

Hashirama grins brightly. “Amaya. How are you, little one? Are you excited for your first birthday party?”

“Uh-huh.” Amaya wobbles forward, arms outstretched. Hashirama comes forward and scoops her up, trying not to laugh as she begins babbling.

Tobirama smiles indulgently as they begin to ‘talk’ to each other. Amaya didn’t know enough words to express her thoughts, so more than half of what she said was nonsense. Still, they all pretended to understand her and encouraged her to keep talking. Amaya probably knew that they didn’t know what she was saying, but was just happy that they were interacting with her in a positive way.

Just as her babbling was slowing down, Madara walks through the door. Her gleeful shriek was nearly ear-shattering, all of them trying not to wince.

“Papa!” Amaya squirms until Hashirama sets her down, falling over as she tries to run to Madara.

Before she can start crying, Madara quickly picks her up and cradles her to his chest. “There we go. You’re all right, aren’t you, Amaya?”

Amaya snuggles up to him and nods. Her little arms wrap around his neck as she closes her eyes contently, her ear pressed to his chest to listen to his heartbeat.

“She’s a really cuddly child, isn’t she?” asks Izuna.

“She is,” confirms Madara. “Though I suppose it’s normal for children her age. I’d be worried if she didn’t want to be held.”

“At a year old, even our own war-hardened parents didn’t deny us affection,” says Tobirama. “It wasn’t until we could effectively throw kunai that they started to become more distant.”

Hashirama frowns. “Well, Amaya won’t have to worry about that from us. Even if she becomes a ninja, I don’t believe it’s necessary to pretend you don’t have emotions while at home with your family.”

Tobirama nods. “I agree with you on that, but I believe it’s necessary to guard your emotions on a mission. Since we’re going to be allowing civilians into the Ninja Academy, we should create some guidelines for how shinobi should act in the field. Essentially, it’ll be advice we got from our own parents that a civilian wouldn’t know to give to their children.”

“That’s a good idea. We can also ask the other clans how they think shinobi should act on missions. They might have some ideas we haven’t thought of,” suggests Izuna.

The rest of them agree with Izuna’s suggestion, though they decide to wait until later to ask the clans for advice. Right now, they’re just focused on celebrating Amaya’s birthday. Before anything else can be said, the kitchen timer goes off.

“That’ll be the cake. Excuse me.” Tobirama turns off the timer and grabs a pair of oven mitts from the draw. He gets the cake out, flips it out onto a plate, and sets it in the freezer to cool down quickly. In his experience, cakes tend to taste best cool and he hoped none of the guests had their heart set on a warm cake. Though, he supposes he could heat it up for them if they really must eat it that way.

The doorbell rings as he contemplates cake temperatures. Izuna answers the door, revealing Hana Senju with her son, Daichi, now 14 months old. Hana has brought her son over a few more times since the first playdate. Since he isn’t sure when he’s going to have more children, he wants Amaya to develop a sibling like bond with some of the other children her age.

Besides Daichi, she’s also had a playdate with a few other children. Naomi, the daughter of one of Madara’s cousins, Shiori Uchiha. Ryou, son of Umeko Nara. And Suki, daughter of Emi Inuzuka.

He’s invited all of them to Amaya’s birthday party. As they had accepted his invitation, they should be here soon. With any luck, Amaya will become good friends with them in the future, fostering peaceful relations between the clans. If not her, he’s sure many friendships will develop in the Ninja Academy.

“Hana,” greets Hashirama. “How are you?”

“I’m good. Thank you for asking,” she replies. “I brought a gift for Amaya.”

Hana pulls out a stuffed rabbit, brown instead of white like the one Amaya is holding. Amaya’s eyes go wide when she sees the new toy, reaching towards it.

“Bunny! Want bunny!”

Hana smiles and gives her the toy. “I’m glad you like it, Amaya.”

“She loves rabbits for some reason,” says Madara. “It wouldn’t surprise me if she asks for a real one when she’s older.”

“You have a cat, don’t you?” asks Natsumi. “Wouldn’t it eat the rabbit if you got one?”

Tobirama looks around. “I think Mika is hiding in the other room. Perhaps all the new people have made her shy. As to whether she’d eat the rabbit, it depends. Cats can be taught not to eat certain animals if they’re part of the family. We’d have to keep the rabbit out of reach until Mika got the idea.”

“Oh. Will you be getting her a rabbit then?” asks Natsumi curiously.

Tobirama looks at Madara who shrugs. That was something they hadn’t discussed yet. Though he had a feeling Madara would leave the decision up to him. Out of the two of them, he was the one at home most often. Until Amaya got older, most of the pet care would be his responsibility. Madara couldn’t feed the animals while he was away on a missions after all.

“I don’t know yet. We’ll have to think about it,” answers Tobirama.

He walks over to the corner of the room where Amaya’s larger play mat has been set up, a few of her least favorite toys resting on it. Hopefully, she won’t throw a fit if the other children decide to play with them.

“You can set Daichi on the play mat if you want,” offers Tobirama.

Hana nods and puts Daichi down, grabbing a stuffed bear out of her bag to give to him. The child accepts his toy and looks around while Hana sets the bag down next to the mat.

The next person to show up to the house was Shiori with his daughter, Naomi. The little girl was 11 months old and due to have her own birthday party next month. Tobirama had been surprised to learn that the omega from the tournament was one of Madara’s more closely related cousins. Shiori was the son of Madara’s father’s first cousin. And wasn’t that a mouthful?

Madara wasn’t as close to Shiori as he was to Izuna, but they were still friends. It was Tobirama’s hope that that friendship would pass down to their children. Though, honestly, he probably worried too much about Amaya making friends. The child was only a year old. She had plenty of time.

“Hello, Shiori,” greets Madara. “I’m glad you could make it.”

“So am I. It would have been a shame to miss Amaya’s first birthday. Every time I see her, it looks like she’s grown,” says Shiori.

“Naomi’s gotten bigger since the last time I saw her as well,” says Madara. “Would you like to set her on the play mat with Daichi?”

“Sure,” agrees Shiori. After setting Naomi down, he gets out Amaya’s gift: a set of water paints and brushes. “These are a bit of a messy gift, I know, but children seem to love to paint, and they wash out easily.”

“Thank you. I’m sure Amaya will love it. We’ll just be careful to watch her closely while she’s painting so none of it ends up on the walls,” says Tobirama.

“I have a gift for her as well,” states Hashirama, pulling out a wooden cube from his bag. “I made it myself.”

Tobirama accepts the item and inspects it. There are different shaped holes on the sides: squares, circles, half-moons, and triangles. One of the sides comes off like a lid, revealing smaller blocks of wood carved into shapes that will fit into the holes.

“It’s a toy that teaches about shapes?” asks Madara, peering into the box.

“Yes,” says Hashirama, grinning. “I figured she could have fun and learn at the same time. I know that’s how Tobirama views learning, something that’s fun.”

“It is,” confirms Tobirama. “Parents that teach their children that learning is work are making a mistake. Children have a natural curiosity that shouldn’t be stamped out.”

Tobirama was lucky that his parents encouraged his desire to learn. He asked a lot of questions as a child, questions they didn’t always know the answer to. His father had seen his intelligence as an advantage for a shinobi and had gotten one of the clan’s fuinjutsu experts to teach him the basics. That was something he would always be grateful for.

“It’s my turn next,” says Izuna. “Natsumi and I picked out this gift together.”

Natsumi pulls out three, slim children’s books from her bag. “These are good bedtime stories for young children. They can also be used to teach her how to read.”

Tobirama thanks her and takes the books, placing them on the nearest bookshelf. Their next guest arrives a minute later: Emi Inuzuka with her daughter, Suki. He hadn’t expected to become friends with Emi, but she was a good sparring partner. Her daughter was 3 months younger than Amaya, and Emi had liked his idea of playdates between their children.

“Hello. I’m not late, am I?” asks Emi.

“No, you’re on time. We’ve got one more person coming to the party,” says Madara. “If you want, you can set Suki over there with the other children.”

Emi nods and puts Suki down next to Naomi. “Play nice with the others, Suki.”

Next, she sets her bag down and pulls out five rose-patterned balls, about the size of his fist. She gives them to him and Madara, and he can feel how soft they are. Very light too.

“These are good for playing catch,” explains Emi. “They’re soft enough that they won’t hurt her if she misses and it hits her in the face.”

Shiori comes closer to look at the soft balls. “That’s a good gift. Where did you get them?”

“I made them. All of the young children in my clan play with them. I could make your kid some,” offers Emi.

Shiori smiles. “Thank you. Naomi’s birthday is next month. You’re welcome to attend.”

“Sure. I’ll have them made by then.”

Madara nearly rolls his eyes as he catches sight of Hashirama beaming happily at Shiori and Emi. He was glad the clans were getting along too, but Hashirama didn’t need to act like a little kid in a candy store.

Turning his head away, he sees Tobirama giving Hashirama an exasperated look. He walks away as his mate begins whispering to the brunette, telling him to calm down. Amaya squirms in his arms, silently asking to be let down.

He puts her down near the play mat, amused when she stares at the other children dubiously. Eventually, she decides to get closer and the four children begin to talk amongst themselves, most of the words incomprehensible to adult ears. Did they actually understand each other or were they just imitating the adults in their lives? Either way, it was cute.

Looking around the room, he sees that Emi and Shiori are discussing what design to have on the soft balls while Tobirama and Hashirama quietly bicker. Izuna and Natsumi are currently watching the children with quiet amusement, like he was just a minute ago.

It was a peaceful, domestic scene. He felt relaxed just watching them. This was what he had wanted when he dreamed of peace as a child. A place where families could be safe to raise their children.

Strange how a chance meeting with Tobirama at just the right time had led to this. Would their clans have achieved peace if Tobirama hadn’t turned himself into an omega? Probably not as easily as they had. Nothing motivated people better than a threat to their children.

Personally, Madara believed his clanmates cooperated as quickly as they did because they realized how ready he was to murder them for being a continued danger to his mate and child. He doesn’t doubt that the Senju felt the same threat from Tobirama, despite his pregnant state. With his mate’s knowledge of fuinjutsu, he didn’t need to be in fighting shape to take someone out.

Madara feels a wave of affection for his mate, knowing Tobirama sensed the emotion by the soft smile the omega gives him. If there weren’t other people around, he would go over there and hug him. Frequent displays of pubic affection still made both of them uncomfortable.

His head automatically turns to the door as a knock is heard. As Hashirama is closest to the door, he opens it to reveal Umeko Nara with her son, Ryou. The child is three months older than Amaya, and joins the ‘conversation’ when Umeko sets him down next to the other children.

Like Natsumi and Izuna, Umeko brought books for Amaya. More bedtime stories. He’s glad the three of them thought to give such a gift, as he and Tobirama were starting to run out of ideas when it came to making up stories to tell their daughter at night. Now that Amaya could speak, she could voice her displeasure if they tried to send her to bed without a story.

“Thank you for the books,” Madara says, Tobirama giving his own thanks a moment later.

After placing the books on a shelf, Tobirama directs their guests to the table. While their guests are enjoying the snacks, Tobirama gets the cake from the freezer and begins to apply the frosting. It’s a large cake, plenty enough for all of them, even the children, though he makes their slices smaller.

“Does anyone object to their child having a piece of cake?” asks Tobirama.

It’s not too late in the day, so the children should have plenty of time to run off the sugar before bedtime. Otherwise, the only reason he can think of for them to object is that they just don’t allow their kids to have sweets. It’s an understandable reason. He doesn’t allow Amaya to have sugar very often either as it makes her hyper, but today is a special occasion.

There are no objections, so he begins serving the cake, amused when the children come over to see what’s going on. Amaya’s reaction to her first bite of chocolate cake is priceless. Her eyes go wide before a delighted grin spreads across her face.

“Oh, that’s adorable,” says Natsumi. “They all look so happy.”

“At this age, I don’t give Ryou very many sweets. I’m guessing it’s the same for the rest of them,” says Umeko.

The parents in the room nod.

“Suki already has enough energy without sugar adding to it. Generally, the Inuzuka don’t give their children sweets, except on special occasions a few times a year, until they’re at least five years old,” says Emi.

“I wonder if that’s a ninja thing,” says Hashirama. “I don’t recall getting very many desserts as a kid either.”

“Money could have been a factor,” replies Tobirama. “We were at war, so our clan wouldn’t have had as much money to buy desserts. But we had plenty of fruit from the trees around the compound.”

Tobirama looks at Madara and Shiori questioningly. Madara shrugs. “It was the same for us. Izuna developed a fondness for blackberries because of it. I prefer strawberries.”

“Now that you guys have more access to desert, do you eat it more often?” asks Emi.

“I do,” Hashirama says promptly. “And according to Tobirama, I eat too much of it.”

Tobirama rolls his eyes. “You _do_ eat too much of it. If you’re not careful, you’ll get overweight, and then how will you protect the village?”

Hashirama pouts. “Well, I suppose I could lay off the sweets a bit. Though, if I live to retirement age, I won’t have to worry about my weight then.”

Emi regards the two brothers with bemusement. “Just how much dessert are we talking about? Considering how much ninja exercise just while training, it isn’t that easy for us to gain weight.”

Hashirama laughs sheepishly, glancing at Tobirama in embarrassment. Tobirama takes pity on his brother and answers for him. “He eats small kind of dessert almost every day. If we didn’t have such a dangerous career, it wouldn’t be a big deal for him to gain weight. Right now, though, we can’t afford to live sedentary lives. Hashirama just needs to eat a smaller portion of the desserts and he’ll be fine.”

“I wonder what it would be like to live to retirement age,” muses Emi. She takes a bite of the cake and her eyes light up. “This is really good.”

“Thank you. It was my mother’s recipe,” replies Tobirama. He almost starts blushing when the rest of their guests start complimenting his baking skills. “I could write down the recipe for you?”

“That would be fantastic,” says Emi.

“I would appreciate that as well,” agrees Umeko.

Tobirama finishes his slice of cake before getting out several sheets of paper and jotting down the recipe for his guests. After handing the recipe out, he feels a tug on his pants leg and looks down to see Amaya with icing smeared around her mouth. And she’s not the only one. All of the children have gotten messy.

“Looks like it’s time for clean up.” He picks her up and heads for the kitchen.

“Some of them look like they got more cake on their face than in their mouth,” marvels Natsumi.

Shiori chuckles. “That is the reality of toddlers.”

The parents all spend a few minutes cleaning their children up before going back to the living room to enjoy a cup of tea. They chat for a little while longer before the guests start heading out.

“Thanks for inviting us,” says Umeko.

“Of course. It was nice having you over. Thank you bringing Amaya a gift,” replies Tobirama.

Everyone says their goodbyes and exits, leaving just him, Madara, and Amaya in the house. And the cat. Where had Mika gone? Perhaps the feline was hiding in one of the bedrooms. She was still a bit shy around strangers.

“That was….pleasant,” says Madara, hesitating over which word to use. ‘Fun’ was too strong a word, but it wasn’t horrible either. “But if we make any more friends, our get-togethers are going to start feeling crowded.”

“I know what you mean. Including us, there were fourteen people in the house: nine adults and five children. If the weather permits, I think we should have any future parties outside,” replies Tobirama.

Madara grimaces at the word ‘party’ but nods his head. “If it’s for Amaya’s birthday, I don’t mind it, but I’d prefer our own birthdays to be smaller. Unless you like the idea of a large birthday party?”

The skepticism in Madara’s voice says he finds the idea highly unlikely, but has to ask out of politeness. His mate knows him very well.

“No. I’d prefer our birthdays to just be family. Hashirama and Izuna. When they have a mate and children in the future, they can come over as well. Our friends can visit in smaller groups to wish us a happy birthday.”

“Dada,” interrupts Amaya. “Up, pease.”

His daughter holds her arms up, standing right in front of him. Obligingly, he picks her up and cuddles her to his chest. It was a good thing he and Madara were so strong as she wanted to be held eighty percent of the time she was awake.

“Tank you.”

“You’re welcome, darling.”

Tobirama raises an eyebrow as Madara stares. “What?”

“It’s still strange how polite she is,” replies Madara. “How did that happen?”

“I a good gir’!” insists Amaya.

Tobirama laughs. “You heard her. She’s a good girl. I got advice from some of my clansmen about how to encourage the behavior you want. I simply showed Amaya that asking for what she wanted was more effective than screaming.”

“Scream is for emer-emer-cies.” Amaya frowns as she tries to sound out the word.

“Emer-gen-cies,” says Tobirama patiently.

“Emer….en….cies,” repeats Amaya slowly, eyebrows scrunched up in concentration.

“That’s close enough for now. We’ll work on pronunciation more later,” says Tobirama, softly patting her on the back.

Madara begins gathering up the plates while he sits down with Amaya on her play mat. She immediately reaches for her toy rabbits, still looking delighted that she got a new one today.

“Bunny, bunny, bunny,” she sings, making the rabbits hop around the mat.

He looks up as Madara comes back into the room to put the leftovers away. “Do you need help with that?”

“No, don’t worry about it. Since you put it together, I can clean up,” replies Madara.

Tobirama smiles and goes back to watching Amaya play. He wonders if his mate had gotten relationship advice at some point. Madara was good at making sure they split the house chores evenly. Neither one of them was stuck doing a lot more work than the other.

To him, it felt like a sign that Madara viewed him as an equal. He had always thought that the alphas who expected their omegas to do all the housework while they went out and earned money viewed their omegas as weaker. Housework was considered easier by some.

However, combine it with child rearing, and it became a lot of work. It wasn’t fair to expect an omega to take care of the children 24/7 and keep the house spotless. It was good that although he and Madara didn’t agree on everything, they had the same views of how a relationship should work.

Tobirama feels a tug on his sleeve and glances down to see Amaya holding up her stuffed bear to him. He accepts the toy and tries to play whatever game she’s come up with now. It seems that she wants to take her stuffed animals on a journey around the living room.

When Madara finishes cleaning, Amaya gives him her toy turtle and he tries to play along. The cat probably thinks them crazy. He can see it watching them from the hallway.

Amaya babbles to them, most of her words unrecognizable. Perhaps she’s narrating the story of what her animals are doing. Is she pretending the living room is a jungle for her toys to explore? He remembers playing make believe with his brothers when they were all very young. Itama had been a very creative child.

Eventually, Amaya gets bored of her chosen game and goes back to her play mat to inspect the toy Hashirama gave her. He’s proud to see that it doesn’t take her very long to figure out that the shape of the block has to match the shape of the hole.

With Amaya now distracted, Tobirama goes to the kitchen and begins preparing his birth control tea. His milk had dried up a month ago, so he’ll be going into heat three months from now. Three weeks out of the year, he’s going to have to hole up in his room with Madara to have marathon sex. To be honest, it sounds more exhausting than arousing.

“You look deep in thought,” remarks Madara, joining him at the kitchen table.

“I was contemplating my next heat. When do you think we should have our second child?”

Madara taps his finger on the table as he thinks. “Well, not for another year at least. But I don’t think they should be more than five years apart. It should be easier for them to get along that way.”

“Okay. I was also thinking of becoming a Jounin teacher in a couple of years. We can find someone to babysit Amaya for a few hours while I’m training my team if you’re out of the village,” says Tobirama.

“And we can alternate who goes out on missions, either me or you with your team. This will also give us an additional income for the second child,” replies Madara.

“Yes. Two or three years should be enough time to train them, and we’ll save up some of the money I make on missions. Then we’ll have another child.”

“Alright,” agrees Madara. “I wonder if we’ll have a boy next or another girl.”

Tobirama shrugs. “Either way, we have plenty of time to come up with a name for him or her.”

They sit in companionable silence for a while as he drinks his tea. He can hear Mika in the other room, meowing a greeting to Amaya. His daughter giggles and an excited squeal of “Kitty!” rings through the house.

“Are you nervous?” asks Madara.

Tobirama blinks. “Hmm?”

“About your heat,” clarifies Madara. “You seemed a bit embarrassed the first time.”

“Yeah. That was…a weird experience. It’ll be less awkward this time. To be honest, if it was just a few days, it would sound like a fun vacation. Just you and me in bed all day,” replies Tobirama.

“But since you won’t be getting pregnant, it could last up to seven days. It does sound exhausting. Also, difficult to explain to Amaya,” says Madara.

“Hashirama or Izuna will help babysit her. Since there are a few hours between each need to have sex, we can visit her then. I suppose we could tell her that we aren’t feeling well, and it’s making us need to take frequent naps throughout the day?” suggests Tobirama.

Madara nods. “She’s young enough that that should work. And, um, at what age should she be when we give her the sex talk?”

Tobirama pauses. “….When she’s old enough to understand anatomy.”

“Sure,” agrees Madara, amused. “Though, that could be sooner than we think if she’s inherited your intelligence.”

Tobirama smiles at the compliment, even as his mind cringes away from the idea of teaching Amaya about sex. “We’ll worry about that when it happens.”

They glance down to the floor as Amaya comes crawling into the room. Their daughter smiles when she sees them and stands up, slowly making her way over to them.

“Papa. Dada. See? I can wa’k now.”

“I can see that, Amaya. You’re doing very well,” praises Madara. He doesn’t point out that she’s been walking for a month now. She needed the validation of them praising her efforts.

Amaya giggles and comes closer, holding her arms out to Madara. He picks her up and sets her down on his lap.

“Did you enjoy your party, Amaya?” Madara asks.

“Uh-huh!”

“Do you remember how old you are now?” asks Tobirama.

“I am one.” Amaya holds up one finger for emphasis.

“Very good. Would you like us to read you one of your new stories? It’s getting close to bedtime,” says Madara.

“Yes, pease.”

Madara carries Amaya to her room and sits on the bed with her while Tobirama joins them a moment later with her books.

“Okay. How about this one?” Tobirama holds up a book with an image of a woman with wings on the cover.

“Pretty,” Amaya says in awe.

“I guess that’s a yes,” says Madara, lips quirking in amusement.

Tobirama begins telling her the story of a fairy princess who lives in the woods. They lived amongst the trees and were friends with all the creatures of the forest. Despite their small size, none of the predators tried to eat them as their magic gave them a formidable defense.

He just barely manages to get to the end of the story before Amaya is fast asleep. Silently, they get up from the bed and go to their own room. Normally, they stay up about an hour after Amaya falls asleep, but today they’re both tired from the party.

Lying cuddled up together on the bed, they spend a few minutes just languidly kissing. It’s more affectionate than sensual right now as neither of them are interested in going any further tonight.

Afterwards, Tobirama lays his head on Madara’s chest, listening to the sound of his mate’s heartbeat. It’s a soothing sound, giving him a feeling of safety and love. Instinctively, he knows that if his alpha’s heartbeat is steady, then there’s nothing to worry about. A soft purr rumbles forth from his chest.

Madara chuckles. “Sometimes, I think we must be related to cats to be able to do that.”

“Perhaps our distant ancestors were,” answers Tobirama, trying not to yawn halfway through his sentence.

Madara notices. “Goodnight, Tobirama. Sleep well.”

“Mmhm. G’night,” mumbles Tobirama, already starting to fall asleep. He feels the faint touch of lips against his skin as Madara kisses his forehead just before his mind drifts off into slumber.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

Tobirama taps his pen on the desk as he reviews the papers in front of him. His brother had requested help with the daily running of the village, so he had agreed to look at the budget. Already, he could see a few things that he could improve, places where they were spending a bit more than what was needed.

Funding the village would be easier if Hashirama would implement a tax to the villagers. However, his brother did have a point that they needed a majority vote in favor of it first. It wouldn’t do to accidently spark a rebellion.

Tobirama was confident that in time, they could convince the villagers of the necessity of the tax. It would allow their government to cover most of the schools’ costs, so they wouldn’t have to charge tuition. He was also interested in building an orphanage, or some kind of foster care system. It was only a matter of time before their village got into a conflict with one of the foreign villages currently in development.

On the floor beside him, Amaya sits on her mat, playing with the paints Shiori got her. In addition to the paper he’s given her, there’s paint all over her arms and the newspapers he’s spread all around her. As inconvenient as it will to be clean up, he thinks it’s worth it for how happy she looks.

“Perhaps you’ll end up an artist,” he muses.

Amaya glances up from her pictures and tilts her head curiously. “What ar-ti-st?”

She speaks the unfamiliar word slowly, trying to get the pronunciation correct. Tobirama wonders if such a thing can be genetic. He remembers his mother saying he did the same thing as a child.

“An artist is someone who creates pictures for a living, either drawing or painting them. Sometimes, people ask the artist to make them a picture of something they want, instead of just buying whatever the artist has already made. It’s called a commission. Sometimes artists can make more money from commissions. Do you remember why money is important?”

Amaya frowns thoughtfully at his explanation. “Trade money, yes?”

“Yes. You can trade money for food, clothing, toys, and many other things. The more money you have, the more things you can buy,” he explains.

“Hmm. Papa not home, for money?” she asks .

Tobirama sighs. “Yes. Your papa is earning money so we can buy the things we need to live. However, being at home with his family is also important to him. If he worked more, he could make more money. He isn’t gone more because he wants to be with us more than he wants more things.”

Amaya looks pleased by that explanation. “Papa loves us.”

“He does,” agrees Tobirama. “Are you enjoying your paints?”

“Yes. Paint fun!” Amaya waves her brush around, sending drops of blue flying.

He tries not to grimace as some of it splatters against the wall. It was a good thing those were water paints. A little soap and water and the wall would be back to normal.

“Well, I’m glad you’re having fun. Though perhaps you could try to keep the paint on your paper?” he suggests hopefully.

Amaya stares at the wall, not even trying to look remorseful. “It pretty.”

“Please don’t paint on the walls, Amaya. Use your paper.” His voice is firm, but not harsh. He’s not angry with her and doesn’t want her to think he is.

Amaya huffs petulantly. “O-kay.”

_‘Did she become a moody teenager in the last five minutes without my noticing?’_ he wonders with faint amusement.

“Thank you, Amaya. I appreciate your help in keeping the house at least moderately tidy.”

Amaya makes a little hum noise, one that he knows by now means that she’s confused but unwilling to show it. He goes back to his paperwork while she resumes painting. It doesn’t take him long to jot down his suggested plan, and then he’s left wondering what to do next. Perhaps he could work on one of his research projects?

There are two bookcases in their home office, one for him and the other for Madara. He grabs a notebook from the shelf and leafs through it. The resurrection jutsu, still incomplete. There were still a few flaws with it. The easiest method of reviving someone was with their original body, but it required a lot of chakra to reverse the body’s decay. There was also a higher risk of the person breaking free of his control with this method.

The other option was to use a sample of DNA to create a new body for the deceased. However, this method required a sacrifice. Using animals as a sacrifice, he had noticed that the subject was not nearly as strong as they had been in life. They had less chakra, less strength, and slower reflexes.

Although he had come to the conclusion that a human sacrifice would achieve the results he wanted, he was hesitant to test it out. Such cold-blooded murder didn’t sit right with him. It was one thing to kill an enemy to protect yourself and your clan, but another thing entirely to sacrifice someone for a jutsu.

He also knew Hashirama would never approve of such a jutsu, even if it would save their own soldiers’ lives to use resurrected enemies. With a slight frown, he sets the notebook back down and picks up another.

Invisibility. He still wasn’t sure exactly how to make this work. Even if he could figure out how to make light bend around the person in the correct way, he was pretty sure it would leave the person without sight. During the jutsu, anyway. Hopefully.

Still, it could be useful for short periods of time. If one of their own was in enemy territory and sensed someone approaching, they could crouch down out of the way and activate the jutsu. They would still have their hearing and sensing abilities, and thus should know when it was safe to come out of hiding.

He would need to further study the way light was reflected by the eyes before he could complete this jutsu. So what else was there to work on? His omega-to-alpha jutsu was complete, though he was reluctant to test it out on himself.

It was a fact that alphas couldn’t bond to each other. Logically, then, it could be assumed that if he transformed himself back into an alpha, then his bond with Madara would break. Such a result would be unacceptable.

Ideally, he would be able to find someone willing to test the jutsu out on themselves. With his new knowledge of anatomy, he was 98 percent sure the jutsu was safe and 92 percent certain that that the jutsu would work as intended. Perhaps he needed to find someone as nonchalant about their second gender as he was.

Tobirama eventually decides to work on a transformation jutsu, meant to turn someone into an animal so they could sneak into enemy territory without suspicion. Turning around, he starts to head back to his desk and freezes in surprise at what he sees. Blue paint. On the wall.

Amaya stares back at him, brush still poised to add another blue streak, trying and failing to look innocent.

“…..Really? While I’m in the room?” he asks incredulously. “You didn’t even wait until I left before disobeying me?”

Was he that obviously defiant as a child? She hadn’t even tried to hide what she was doing. A very un-ninja like action. Shaking his head, he goes over to her play mat and begins gathering up her art supplies.

Amaya looks dismayed. “My paint!”

“Yes, your paint,” he replies dryly. “We’ll try this again another day if you behave yourself. For now, I’m going to clean up the wall and you can find something less destructive to do.”

Tobirama grimaces as her eyes begin to water, her lower lip wobbling. He’d feel more sympathy if she just started crying, but the way she begins screaming does nothing to change his mind.

“We’ve talked about this, Amaya. Screaming is for when you’re in trouble or in pain. It won’t get you toys, or candy, or allow you to paint on the walls,” he says firmly.

When she doesn’t stop, he sighs softly and leaves the room. After locking the art supplies in a cupboard, he gathers up a bucket of soapy water and a sponge and heads back into the office. She’s quieted down by now and is sitting sullenly on her play mat, hugging her stuffed rabbit to her chest. Although it pains him to see her so unhappy, he can’t simply let her run wild and wreck the house.

After cleaning off the paint, he comes up to her and sighs again as she turns away from him. What could he do to make her feel better that wouldn’t be like a ‘reward’ for acting out? Seeing paint on her arm gives him an idea.

“Would a bath make you feel better?” he asks hopefully.

The pout slowly fades as she considers his proposal. Eventually, she comes to the conclusion that a bath is a worthy compensation for having the paint taken away and nods.

“Okay. I’ll fill up the tub then.”

He heads into the bathroom and runs her a bubble bath, finding her favorite bath toy from underneath the sink. A bath wasn’t technically a reward, but it was something she enjoyed and it had the added bonus of getting all that paint off her skin.

Thankfully, Amaya doesn’t fuss as he picks her up from the floor. Her attitude improves as soon as she’s in the water, her pout replaced by a delighted smile.

_‘That smile is why I put up with all your temper tantrums,’_ he thinks to himself. _‘Why do toddlers have to act like the world is ending over such minor things?’_

Not wanting her to have another fit, he lets her soak in the water until it gets cold. She still doesn’t _like_ having to get out of the tub, but the water isn’t as appealing to her unless it’s warm.

After the bath, Tobirama sets Amaya in her highchair and begins preparing supper. He gives her soft food, bananas and cooked peas this time. However, he’s surprised that after she takes a bite of the peas, she grabs a handful and throws them.

“Yucky!” exclaims Amaya.

He crosses his arms and stares at her, waiting expectantly. She wilts under his disapproving gaze.

“Sowwy,” she mutters.

His gaze softens. “I forgive you, Amaya. You don’t need to throw food to express yourself, though, okay? If you don’t like something, just tell me.”

Amaya nods. “No like peas.”

“Alright, but you still need some kind of vegetable. If I don’t feed you a balanced diet, you could get sick,” he replies.

Her nose scrunches up in confusion. “What sick mean?”

Tobirama pauses and thinks about how best to explain that. “Well, sick means not feeling good. You could get a fever, which means getting really warm, uncomfortably warm. Sometimes your head or your throat will hurt, and your nose will get runny. That’s the most common kind of sickness.”

Amaya frowns. “No want sick.”

He chuckles softly. “I’ve never met anyone who did. So, if you don’t want to get sick, then I need to give you a vegetable. How about cooked carrots? You seemed to like them the other day.”

“Hmm, o-kay.”

He still has some leftover carrots in the fridge, and it doesn’t take long to heat them up. Amaya munches on her banana slices while she waits, not looking particularly eager for the carrots to be done. Still, she eats them readily enough when he puts them down in front of her.

For his dinner, he reheats some leftover stir-fry. Madara won’t be back from his mission until tomorrow, so he doesn’t have to worry about preparing something for him as well. As Madara tends to be tired when he gets back from his missions, Tobirama tries to have a meal ready for him when arrives back home.

“Da.” Amaya waves her hands at him, trying to get his attention.

“What is it, darling?”

“Am full. Can play now?” she asks.

“Alright. Let’s just clean you up a bit first.” Getting a damp cloth, he wipes off her hands and face, then sets her down on the floor to wobble off into the living room.

_‘I think I’m going to miss that little determined face she makes when walking is easy for her. Though, I suppose there’s always going to be something she has to put effort into mastering, so perhaps I’ll see that expression again,’_ thinks Tobirama.

He tidies things up in the kitchen, then goes back into the office to retrieve his research notes before sitting on the living room couch. Here, he can keep an eye on Amaya and work on his jutsus at the same time.

 

* * *

 

“What do you think?” asks Tobirama, frowning when Hashirama doesn’t answer. His brother did not look as happy as he thought he should after telling him that his jutsu was ready to be tested.

“Is it having someone else test it that you don’t agree with?” he prompts.

“No. No, that’s not it. As long as the person volunteers and are told of the possible risks, then it’s fine. It’s just….” Hashirama pauses, trying to think of a tactful way to voice his doubts. “Well, I don’t think people are going to be as receptive to this jutsu as you’re hoping they will be.”

“What?” he asks, startled.

Hashirama sighs softly. “You’re looking at this from a pragmatic view. While it’s true that there are situations where it would be more helpful to be an alpha or an omega, many people won’t care. They simply aren’t comfortable changing their gender for any reason.”

Tobirama crosses his arms, annoyed with the reality Hashirama is presenting to him. He supposes he hadn’t been looking at it from every angle. It just made sense to him that people should be able to change their gender at will, to fit whatever situation they were in. Obviously during battle, it would make more sense to be an alpha to avoid the risk of going into heat or being captured for breeding purposes, but not every omega would agree with him.

“I understand the point you’re trying to make,” he concedes. “However, I still think this jutsu could have its uses. The betas may not be as reluctant to change their gender as the alphas and omegas. I know there must be at least a few betas who wish they could have children; or who fall in love with an alpha/omega and want to be able to bond with them.”

Hashirama nods slowly. “Alright, but you should keep in mind the possibility of receiving negative backlash from the traditionalists. They’ll likely view changing your gender as something unnatural. They may even view it as sinful, if they’re the religious sort.”

Tobirama tries not to grimace. He had nothing against those who believed in a higher power, just as long as they weren’t trying to push their views onto everyone else. It was likely that they’d be the most vocal about how ‘wrong’ it was for people to switch genders.

“I’ll deal with that when it happens,” he replies. “As Konoha is a multi-religion city, they can’t get this jutsu banned on religious grounds. They can learn to be tolerant or live somewhere else.”

For a moment, Hashirama looks like he wants to protest. Then his brother seems to deflate and nods. “That’s probably for the best. It wouldn’t be a very peaceful village if the citizens aren’t able to tolerate one another’s differences.”

Tobirama leans back in his chair, trying not to look too pleased with himself. He liked it when his brother agreed with his logic. It didn’t happen often enough in his opinion.

“Now we just need to figure out how to find volunteers,” says Tobirama. “Just announcing it in the streets or the newspaper will draw in the critics.”

Hashirama hums thoughtfully. “Maybe we could mention it to some of our open minded clansmen? If one of them doesn’t volunteer, they might know who would be interested in changing genders.”

“Sounds like a good idea to me,” he agrees.

 

* * *

 

Tobirama plucks a cucumber from the vine and adds it to the growing pile in the basket beside him. So far, their garden had been doing amazingly well. They had plenty of cucumbers, green beans, tomatoes, and onions. The potatoes and carrots had been a bit more difficult to grow, but they had gotten the hang of it eventually.

July was hot this year. He could feel sweat beginning to drip down his skin and was starting to worry about sunburn. Although he had applied sunblock before going outside, his skin was sensitive to the sun’s rays. After an hour of being out in the garden, the heat was starting to get to him.

Straightening up from his crouch, he inhales sharply at the wave of dizziness that washes over him. He has to lower himself back down to the ground as his knees begin to buckle. What was this? Heat stroke?

He isn’t surprised when Madara comes rushing out of the house to check on him. The bond would have told him that something was wrong.

“Tobirama? Are you alright?” asks Madara, frowning in concern.

“I…think so,” he answers slowly. “I feel dizzy. Help me inside?”

“Of course.” Madara is quickly by his side, pulling his arm over the other’s shoulder to help support him. They make their way back into the house, and he has to fight he roiling nausea that moving causes him.

His mate sits him down on the living couch and fetches two large glasses of ice water. Amaya comes up to him as he’s downing them.

“Is dada okay?” she asks with wide eyes.

“I’ll be fine,” he assures her.

“No look fine,” she replies dubiously.

Madara seems to agree with her and turns the ceiling fan on high. The heat still hasn’t left him even after all the water. His mate goes and refills the glasses with a slight frown.

“Is dada sick?” asks Amaya. “Fe-ver?”

Madara gives her a startled look, then glances at him curiously. “Did you teach her that?”

Tobirama nods, immediately regretting the action as the dizziness returns. He blinks several times to clear his vision. “Yes. I told her she’d get sick if she didn’t eat her vegetables.”

“Well, apparently that’s not the only way to get sick, as you eat a lot of vegetables,” replies Madara dryly. “So something else must be wrong. You don’t normally get this over-heated in the garden, do you?”

“No. And you would have noticed before now if I had.”

They ponder the situation for a moment, Amaya watching them anxiously. Tobirama smiles at her reassuringly and pats her head. “Don’t worry, Amaya. Even if it is a fever, I just need to drink lots of water and sleep a lot until I get better. Okay?”

“Okay. Love you, dada.”

“I love you too, darling. Why don’t you go play for a while? I’m just going to go take a nap.”

Assured that he’ll be fine, Amaya nods and heads back to her pile of toys. Madara helps him back up from the couch and into their bedroom, where they’ll be able to talk without Amaya listening in.

“Could it be your heat starting?” asks Madara. “That could have given you less tolerance for the sun’s warmth.”

“It might be,” agrees Tobirama. “But I don’t know what it feels like when a heat is just beginning. When I transformed into an omega, I was immediately aroused and in heat.”

“Hmm. We’ll need to stock up the fridge. I don’t think we have enough food for the week,” replies Madara.

“Right. It’s been recommended to me that I eat softer foods during my heat. They take less energy to digest.”

“That leaves meat and nuts out, doesn’t it?” asks Madara. “Isn’t protein even more important during this time?”

“It is, but I can get protein from eggs, beans, and peanut butter. Squashes and avocado are also good during this time,” says Tobirama.

“Then that’s what we’ll buy. The next issue then is, what do we tell Amaya?” asks Madara.

“Well, she seems to think I’m sick, so we could run with that. During the times we need to mate, we could say I need to take naps because the illness is making me tired,” suggests Tobirama.

“And we could say you’re contagious, which is why Amaya needs to stay with Hashirama or Izuna. We’ll pretend I’ve already caught the illness from you and thus need to take frequent naps as well,” adds Madara.

Tobirama nods. “That should work. Do you think a healer would be able to tell how close I am to going in heat?”

Madara pauses, looking a bit surprised. “I don’t know. That’s never occurred to me before. Your brother is technically a healer, isn’t he? Would he be able to tell?”

Tobirama shrugs. “Most of his healing is for battle injuries, but he might have healed an omega who was going into heat before. The clan healer, Yuuna, might be a better person to ask. When the dizziness passes, I’ll go talk to her.”

“Alright. Do you need any more water?” asks Madara, gesturing to the empty glasses.

Tobirama grimaces at the thought. “If I drink any more, I feel like I’ll explode. It at least brought my temperature down a little, but it’s not helping much.”

Madara frowns and crosses his arms. “That’s not good. I’m going to get you an ice pack from the freezer and then go talk to Hashirama. If he can’t help, then he can talk Yuuna into coming here. I don’t want you falling down in the street.”

“I wouldn’t fall,” grumbles Tobirama, but doesn’t protest further as Madara gets him the promised icepack. Truthfully, he’s dizzy enough that tripping over his own feet is a real possibility. As much as he doesn’t like being fussed over, he doesn’t like the idea of making a fool of himself in the middle of the village street even more.

He waits patiently for Madara to return, grateful that his mate took Amaya with him. In this state, he doesn’t think he could watch her properly. Especially since he ends up falling asleep before Madara gets back.

Tobirama opens his eyes groggily as Madara shakes his shoulder. Behind his mate is a worried Hashirama and a calm Yuuna. The healer places a glowing green hand against his forehead and hums softly.

“Yes, you’re definitely going into heat. I’d say tomorrow at the latest, but it’ll probably start tonight,” says Yuuna. “Make sure to stay hydrated.”

Madara goes rigid with shock. “Tonight? That soon? I still need to get more food for the week.”

Yuuna chuckles softly. “Everyone is always surprised by how quickly the heat sets in. Why don’t I watch Tobirama and Amaya while the two of you go get groceries?”

Hashirama gives her a grateful smile. “Thank you, Yuuna. We’ll be back as quickly as we can.”

Madara lets Amaya know he’s going to the store and leaves with Hashirama. Having heard Hashirama and Madara discuss what they intend to tell Amaya, Yuuna begins to explain to the little girl what’s going on.

“Dada is sick?” asks Amaya.

“Yes, little one, he is. But don’t worry, he’ll get better within the week. He just needs to take a lot of naps and drink plenty of water,” replies Yuuna.

Amaya nods, a bit of the concern easing from her expression.

“However, some sicknesses can be spread. Your papa is already showing signs of developing a fever. So he’ll need to take lots of naps too,” continues Yuuna. “Your parents think it would be best if you stayed with Hashirama while they’re sick. They’ll still visit you a few times throughout the day when they’re not as tired. As long as the three of you are outside, you’ll be less likely to get sick from them.”

Amaya tilts her head in confusion. “Why?”

Yuuna pauses. “Hmm, that’s more difficult to explain. People get sick from tiny germs, so tiny that you can’t see them with your eyes. If you’re outside, the germs are more likely to get blown away by the wind than to reach you. Inside the house, the germs are in the air and there’s no wind to blow them away from you.”

Amaya blinks slowly, her expression uncomprehending. Eventually, the child just nods, choosing to believe the healer even though she didn’t fully understand.

Yuuna continues to bring Tobirama glasses of water and ice until his mate and brother return. It was important to keep the omega’s temperature down until his heat began; at which time, it would begin to regulate itself again. Something about starting their heat always made an omega’s temperature skyrocket; and if the fever wasn’t dealt with, it would weaken them. Too many omegas had gotten sick right after their heat because they didn’t know to stay cool in the beginning.

She raises a finger to her lips as the two of them enter the house, arms laden with grocery bags. They get the hint that Tobirama is sleeping and put things away quietly. Hashirama helps Amaya pack up what she wants to take with her for the week. The child then hugs Madara goodbye before leaving with her uncle.

For now, the girl is happy enough getting to have a sleepover at her uncle’s house. As the days progress, Amaya will likely become more discontent at how little time her parents have to spend with her. Yuuna hopes that Tobirama’s heat ends before the child decides to throw a fit.

With Madara now back to take care of his mate, her job here is done. She makes sure Tobirama is stable and says goodbye to Madara before leaving.

 

* * *

 

Tobirama awakens slowly, the icepack slipping from his forehead as he shifts onto his side. There’s a wonderful scent in the air. It takes his still half-asleep mind a moment to identify the scent as Madara’s. Had his mate always smelled that good?

During his first heat, Madara’s scent hadn’t been this appealing. Maybe the strength of the bond affected how drawn to his mate he was during his heat? He had heard that mated omegas found the scent of other alphas to be repelling during this time.

Tobirama looks around the room, put out that Madara isn’t here. He didn’t want to leave the bed that smelled like them. Bringing Madara’s pillow closer, he inhales deeply and lets out a soft purr. It doesn’t surprise him when he becomes aroused, feeling heat begin to pool between his legs. What had previously been an unbearable fever was now a pleasant warmth that suffused throughout his whole body.

Reaching down, he wraps his fingers around his length, groaning softly as he strokes himself to full hardness. His breath catches at the sudden flare of _need_ that thrums through him. Clothes beginning to feeo restrictive, he hurriedly removes them.

He doesn’t know if he made some kind of noise, of if Madara sensed he was awake from the bond, but his mate chooses that moment to come into the room. A hunger that has nothing to do with food fills him at the sight and smell of his alpha.

“ _Alpha_ ,” he purrs.

Not needing any more encouragement, Madara undresses and joins him on the bed. He wraps his arms around him as Madara lies down against him, their bare chests pressed together. Teeth nip at his neck as Madara breathes in his scent.

“Mmm. Your scent is sweeter right now. Are you feeling better?”

Tobirama nods. “The dizziness is gone. It feels like it’s been replaced by arousal.”

Madara smiles against his neck. “Allow me to help you with that.”

Tobirama huffs out a short laugh at his mate’s attempt to be seductive. Before Madara can get offended, he seals their lips together, flicking his tongue against Madara’s bottom lip. A pleasured moan escapes him as their tongues meet, finding the taste of his mate to be exquisite.

His hands grip Madara’s hair as the other grinds down, sweet friction making both of them shudder as their cocks rub together. Both of them are softly panting by the time their kiss ends.

“Which position are you in the mood for?” asks Madara.

Tobirama bites his lip as he considers his options. Although he generally prefers being in Madara’s lap, he was in the mood for something a bit more…animalistic.

“On my front,” he decides.

They reposition themselves so that he’s on his hands and knees with Madara kneeling down behind him. His cheeks are spread, revealing his slick entrance to Madara’s eyes. A blush spreads across his face as his alpha just stares for a moment before a wet tongue licks a broad stripe across his hole.

Tobirama cries out, raising his hips as high as they can go and leans forward until his chest is against the bed. His body trembles as Madara continues to lick across sensitive nerves, clawing at the bedsheets when a finger is slowly pushed inside him.

“Look at how wet you are for me, omega. So eager to have me inside you,” murmurs Madara.

Tobirama bites the pillow in front of him and tries not to whimper as Madara adds another finger and begins to massage his inner walls. White-hot pleasure shoots up his spine when Madara finds his prostate and proceeds to mercilessly rub it over and over again.

It feels like a switch flips on inside his mind as an intense _need_ flares through him. Muscles clench around slender fingers, slick dripping down his thighs to be lapped up by his alpha. His cock throbs as precum steadily drips from his slit.

“ _Please,”_ he gasps out.

Madara’s breath catches at seeing his normally composed lover so undone. Removing his fingers, he smirks at Tobirama’s needy whimper. He rubs his cock between Tobirama’s cheeks, coating it in his omega’s slick. Without warning, he grabs Tobirama’s hips and slams inside him.

His omega lets out a strangled cry, drowning out the sound of his low groan as molten heat grips his cock so perfectly. It takes him a moment to adjust to the feeling, not wanting this to be over too soon. When Tobirama begins to squirm impatiently, he starts moving, setting a fast and rough pace. During Tobirama’s heat, neither one of them wanted gentle.

He can tell Tobirama is getting close when the omega begins to moan with every thrust. Letting go of the other’s hips, he stills his movements and feels Tobirama clench around him hungrily. It almost makes him start moving again; but first, he wants to play with Tobirama’s pert nipples, rubbing and pinching them until the omega is trembling underneath him with beautiful little whimpers spilling forth from his throat.

It’s tempting to keep teasing Tobirama, but he’s too close to the edge to have that kind of patience. Grabbing a handful of the omega’s hair, he pulls on the white strands and snaps his hips forward. Tobirama’s teeth are forced to let go of the pillow as his head is pulled back, his keening moan filling the room as he finds his release.

Madara growls softly as Tobirama clenches down around him, sinking his teeth into the omega’s neck as his knot swells. They stay like that for a few minutes, his bite and cock keeping Tobirama pinned in place. Reluctantly, he lets go, tongue lapping up the blood.

They shift onto their sides, his arms wrapped around his contently purring omega. It makes him smile to hear how satisfied his mate is. Giving compliments doesn’t come naturally to either of them, but the purring lets him know when he’s definitely done something right.

When his knot shrinks down again, he cleans them both up and retrieves some food and water from the kitchen. Tobirama hadn’t been able to eat supper earlier, the pre-heat making him too nauseous to stomach food.

It’s still interesting to him just how cuddly Tobirama is after sex. The omega has one arm wrapped around his waist while the other snatches apple slices from the tray. While their clans were at war, he never would have guessed that Tobirama would be such an affectionate lover. The Senju had always seemed so aloof and stoic, but of course he wouldn’t have wanted his enemies to see he was capable of emotion.

He sets the tray on the bedside dresser when he’s done, noticing Tobirama repressing a yawn. Starting his heat seemed to have sapped a lot of his body’s energy. He supposes it was late enough that they could go to bed now and wake early in the morning.

Tobirama protests when he nudges him under the covers. “I just woke up an hour ago. I’m not…..not tired.”

Madara raises a pointed eyebrow when Tobirama’s words are interrupted by a yawn. The other huffs but lies down beside him. He wraps his arm around Tobirama’s waist and lets the steady breathing of his mate relax him into a deep sleep.


	16. Chapter Sixteen

Tobirama frowns at the group of people gathered in front of the hospital. There were about fifteen of them, all holding up signs that protested _his_ jutsu. He knew their objections had nothing to do with him, and everything to do with their religious beliefs, but he still felt insulted.

It had been a year since he and Hashirama had begun to look for volunteers to test his jutsu, and it had just gone public a month ago. If his brother hadn’t made it illegal to protest on private property, he suspected it would be his door they were camped out on. It was disconcerting to have their hostile gazes on his back as he entered the hospital, but he ignored them. None of them were a threat to him.

Madara was currently at home with Amaya while he visited the hospital to teach a few of the medics how to perform his jutsu on someone else. It had taken them a while to choose who he should teach such a thing. They had to find someone moral enough not to use the jutsu on someone without their consent, even on an enemy.

Although Tobirama had felt no dysphoria from having his second gender changed, he knew not everyone would react the same way. He did not wish anyone to feel _wrong_ in their own body. It would, he thought, be akin to a form of psychological torture.

It only takes about an hour to teach them the jutsu. The medics he had chosen were quick studies. To his dismay, the protestors are still loitering around the hospital doors when he leaves. Didn’t these people have anything better to do with their lives than be a public nuisance?

He stalks past them, ignoring their attempts to lecture him about their own version of right and wrong. As if a ninja and a civilian ever had the same definition of morals anyway.

It starts to rain on the way home. In the mood he’s in, it’s more annoyance than pleasure. He hurries inside and retrieves a towel from the bathroom to dry off.

Madara frowns at being ignored and glances down at Amaya. “Your dad’s in a temper today. Wonder what those idiots did now.”

“They tried to lecture me about morals!” Tobirama says from the bathroom.

“Civilians did?” he asks, tone varying between amusement and scorn. “They do know we kill people for a living, don’t they?”

Tobirama finally emerges from the bathroom and shrugs. “I don’t know what goes through their heads. Even the non-religious sort seem to be losing their minds.”

“I wonder how long they intend to protest,” says Madara.

Tobirama grimaces. “Too long.”

“Papa. Dada,” interrupts Amaya. “Why rain?”

They blink at her in surprise, realizing that she’s been staring out the window while they were talking.

“You want to know why it rains?” clarifies Tobirama.

She nods.

Tobirama thinks about trying to explain evaporation and condensation to a two year old, and feels a headache approaching. Before he can think of a simple enough way to explain, Madara begins speaking.

“The sky is repaying its debt,” says Madara. “It borrowed rain from the earth earlier and now it’s giving it back.”

Tobirama’s brain stalls at the ludicrous statement, but Amaya just nods like it makes perfect sense.

“That,” he says stiffy, “is the least scientific explanation I have ever heard.”

Madara raises judgmental eyebrows at him. “She’s two. You can’t turn her into a scientist already.”

Tobirama huffs. “I can try.”

His mate laughs silently. “Good luck with that.”

A knock at the door heralds the arrival of their babysitter for the day, Hana. He lets her in while Madara finds their umbrellas.

“Thanks for watching her tonight,” says Tobirama.

“It’s no problem,” assures Hana. “Good luck at your meeting.”

“We’ll definitely need it,” replies Madara dryly, handing Tobirama an umbrella before heading out the door. “See you later, Hana.”

Hana waves at his retreating back, giving Tobirama an amused smile. “See you later.”

Tobirama nods, steps outside, and opens up the umbrella. He finds Madara waiting for him at the end of the street, and they walk to the Hokage tower together. Hashirama and Kenji are already in his brother’s office when they arrive. The Nara had agreed to be one of the Hokage’s advisors a few months ago. They would need his wisdom in the coming years.

“Alright. Now that we’re all here, the meeting can begin,” announces Kenji. “The first order of business I’d like to bring up is that some of the civilians have been complaining about the taxes.”

Hashirama frowns. “Most agreed at the time that having sales tax to pay for the schools was necessary. What are their complaints exactly?”

“They’re worried that as a government official, Tobirama might be receiving funds for his research, specifically that transformation jutsu,” replies Kenji.

Tobirama exhales slowly through his nose. He can feel a rising headache from how often he’s gotten angry today. “None of the sales tax goes towards someone’s salary or to research grants. All of it goes to bettering the village.”

Kenji gives him a briefly worried look, noticing how tense he’s become. “Yes, I figured that. Perhaps we should write up a report of how much we get from sales tax and where exactly the money is going to?”

“That’s an excellent idea,” says Hashirama. “I’ve got the files on that over here.”

The brunette goes over to one of the filing cabinets and pulls out several folders. Each one is for a different project the taxes are going to. Schools, parks, and start up loans for small businesses that will benefit the entire town. Madara and he had had to veto a few of the businesses Hashirama had wanted to give money to. As nice as it would be to help everyone, they didn’t think the shops would have been that profitable.

One of them had just wanted to sell hats. Maybe when the village was larger, there would be enough people in need of hats for them to stay in business, but not now. Especially since they had been mostly over-the-top, lacey, frilly decorative hats meant to be fashionable.

This was a village mostly consisting of ninja, still used to being at war all the time. None of them were all that comfortable spending their money on luxury items yet. Perhaps when their children grew up, fashion would become more important, though he hoped Amaya never wore one of those ridiculous frou frou hats that woman had been trying to sell.

“We’re just wanting a condensed report on that, right?” asks Madara. “If so, Tobirama and I could work on that. Hashirama’s best skill is not summarization.”

They ignore Hashirama’s dramatics (slumped shoulders and gloomy air) with practiced ease. Tobirama doesn’t know why his brother protests Madara’s criticism this time. Everybody knows he likes to talk a lot.

“That would be good. Thank you,” replies Kenji. “I also believe it would be a good idea for us to write an article for the newspaper. It should focus on the positive aspects of this transformation jutsu: how it will allow betas to have children or bond with that alpha they fell in love with. An emphasis on family and true love ought to make the religious conservatives calm down a bit.”

Hashirama perks back up. “I could write that. A lot of betas I’ve talked to have been really supportive of this jutsu, even when they don’t personally want to use it. In fact, even the ones who thought it weird understood why other bets would want to transform. I’ll ask if any of them are interested in answering a few questions for the article.”

“That would be helpful. Thank you,” says Kenji. “We also need to decide how long someone can protest outside a building before it comes disruptive.”

“Aren’t they already being disruptive? Their nonsense has given me a headache several times over the past week,” says Tobirama, an edge of frustration in his voice.

Kenji shoots him a sympathetic glance. “They’re annoying, certainly, but they haven’t caused anyone to be truly hurt yet. What we need to remember is that they’re hanging around the hospital. If they end up blocking someone who’s critically injured from being carried inside, then the injured person may not receive treatment in time. They would be partially response for his death.”

Madara frowns in displeasure. “Then they’ll be put on trial and sent to prison. That or the dead person’s family will get revenge on the protestors. Even civilians will retaliate if their family members are hurt, and this village is seventy percent shinobi.”

Hashirama shakes his head disapprovingly. “Or we could put preventive measures in place so that nobody _dies._ ”

“That works too, I suppose,” says Madara grudgingly.

Kenji stands closer to Tobirama to ask him, “Your mate is kind of bloodthirsty, isn’t he?”

“Only when people are being stupid,” replies Tobirama, only half joking.

“Uh-huh.” Kenji eyes them both dubiously before going over to stand next to Hashirama. The Hokage may have been a bit eccentric, but at least his first answer to a problem wasn’t violence.

“So basically what we need is a law for how close to the buildings the protestors can be,” says Hashirama. “And they can’t block any of the doors, especially to the hospital. The first offense will be a fine; the second will be a night in jail.”

“And if they keep doing it?” asks Madara.

Hashirama pauses, sighing softly. “We’ll start with a month in prison for the third offense. Each consecutive offense will double the time. Two months for the fourth offense, four months for the fifth offense, etc. As much as I don’t want to put people in prison for protesting, they can’t be allowed to block the hospital.”

“A wise decision,” says Kenji approvingly. “The people will learn that their right to express their opinion is not more important than the lives of others.”

Hashirama just nods solemnly.

“Is that everything?” asks Madara, getting bored.

“It’s everything I had to bring up,” replies Kenji.

“There was something I wanted to talk to Tobirama about,” says Hashirama. He gets a folder from his desk and hands it to his brother. “These are the students that will be graduating in a couple weeks. I used their teacher’s recommendations on who gets along when I made the teams.”

Tobirama flips through the papers, each student having their own page that summarizes their skills and personality. He looks for a team that doesn’t have all three of them with civilian parents, not entirely convinced they’ll be prepared to handle the reality of a shinobi’s life. If he’s going to put effort into training a team, he doesn’t want them to quit as soon as a mission goes wrong.

One of the teams has someone from the Sarutobi clan. It was a small, but strong, shinobi clan. The kid’s teammates are from civilian families, but their teacher believes they have some understanding of what shinobi life is really like from listening to Sarutobi’s stories of his parents’ missions.

“This team will do.” Tobirama hands the file back to Hashirama. His name is then written down next to the word ‘Instructor.’

“Great. Now I just need to ask the other Jounin who’ve volunteered which teams they’d like to teach,” says Hashirama. “Anyways, I think we’ve covered everything for today’s meeting.”

With nothing left to talk about, the four of them say their goodbyes and go their separate ways. Tobirama and Madara go back to the house to relieve Hana of babysitting duty. The rest of the evening is uneventful. They eat supper, play with Amaya, quietly read for a while and then go to bed. Everything seems peaceful until they’re awoken in the middle of the night by the sound of shattering glass.

Tobirama is on his feet before he’s even fully awake, kunai in hand as he heads for the living room. The kitchen window is in pieces, a large rock on the floor the obvious culprit. Around the stone is a piece of paper with the word “Freak” scrawled across it.

He doesn’t have to guess who did this, the chakra signature retreating from the scene of the crime lets him know who the perpetrator is. Madara has gone to check on Amaya, so he doesn’t hesitate to sprint out the door, catching up to the civilian with relative ease. He grabs the back of the man’s shirt, nearly choking him in the process.

“Let go of me! This is assault!”

Tobirama raises disbelieving eyebrows. “And breaking my window isn’t? What did you think would happen when we saw that?”

The civilian puffs up in outrage. “I was trying to scare you away! It was one thing when it was just you and your unnatural family. Now you’re trying to get the rest of us to become freaks like you.”

Tobirama’s eyes narrow, his chakra flaring out violently. The civilian shakes with fear, abruptly passing out from the force of his killing intent. His chakra dies down as he sighs. He looks to the house as the door opens, seeing Madara standing in the doorway.

“I’m going to drop him off at the police station and file a report. At the very least, he’s going to pay to replace our window,” says Tobirama.

Madara eyes the civilian with distaste and nods. “I’ll clean up the glass while you’re gone and try to get Amaya back to bed. That noise frightened her.”

“Right. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Reminding himself that killing civilians in Konoha is a crime, he carelessly tosses the man over his shoulder and stalks off to the police station. No one is all that surprised when he tells them what happened. They were expecting the religious extremists to act out against him eventually, to show their displeasure for the jutsu he created.

However, just because they disagree with his life choices doesn’t mean they get to destroy his property. The law is on his side on this issue, and the man is fined for the cost to fix his window. With any luck, that will keep others from wrecking his stuff, now that they know they’ll have to pay for it. A vindictive part of him is also pleased that the man will have to spend the night in jail. For scaring his daughter, he deserved a restless night trying to sleep on the jail’s uncomfortable beds.

When he gets home, he catches sight of the broken window and realizes they’re going to have to do something about that. None of the home repair shops are open this late at night, so they can’t actually get it fixed right now. Instead, he gets a spare sheet from the closet and tapes it across the window. It won’t keep all of the wind out, but September is only mildly cold this year, even at night. If they keep their bedroom doors closed and wear an extra blanket while they sleep, then they’ll be fine for one night.

After that’s done, he heads into the bedroom, unsurprised to find Amaya sleeping next to Madara. Even if he couldn’t sense where they were, he would have guessed something like this would happen. Amaya always asked to sleep next to them when she had a bad dream, so it made sense she’d want the same kind of comfort after being woken up by someone attacking their home. He crawls into the bed and curls up next to them, focusing on his breathing until he’s relaxed enough to fall asleep.

 

Madara wakes him up the next morning, a cup of hot tea in his hands. He accepts the drink gratefully, the caffeine helping clear the fog from his mind.

“I saw you covered up the window,” says Madara. “It didn’t occur to me to do so last night, probably because I was still half-asleep.”

“The walk to the police station got rid of any lingering drowsiness,” Tobirama replies, smiling wryly. “And I didn’t want bugs flying in, especially wasps and mosquitos.”

Madara wrinkles his nose as he imagines the living room full of mosquitos. “That would have been unpleasant,” he agrees. “I suppose one of us will have to go into town and find someone who can fix windows.”

“You say that, ‘go into town,’ as though it’s some long walk. The business district is only a few streets away from us,” says Tobirama.

Madara shrugs. “I just don’t feel like going anywhere today. This should have been a day off but that man ruined it.”

Amaya stirs awake at the grumpy sound of Madara’s voice. She looks around groggily then blinks up at them. “Bad man is gone?”

“Yeah, kid. The bad man is gone,” sighs Madara. The tension eases from his shoulders as the undercurrent of fear in her expression disappears.

“He had to spend the night in jail, and the police have assured me that he _will_ be reimbursing us for the cost to fix that window,” adds Tobirama.

Although Tobirama wishes he could tell her the man won’t be back, he isn’t certain enough of that outcome to promise her that. People could get irrational when they hated someone, irrational like an untrained civilian provoking a shinobi. And doing anything to _really_ scare the man off would have only convinced the other religious extremists that they were right to think of him as ‘sinful and unnatural.’ If possible, Tobirama would like to convince them that they were being stupid and bigoted.

For now, though, it was breakfast time.

* * *

Two weeks later, Tobirama strides into one of the Academy’s classrooms as the teacher calls out team assignments. He stands against the wall with the other Jounin teachers and waits for his name to be called.

“Team 7: Hiruzen Sarutobi, Koharu Utatane, Homura Mitokado. Your instructor is Tobirama Senju.”

Tobirama steps forward as the whispering starts. The children from the ninja clans seem a bit awed, while those from civilian families have mixed reactions.

“Isn’t he the one who turned himself into an omega?” whispers one boy to his classmate. “My mom called him a deviant.”

It’s not the worst he’s ever heard, but he still gives the kid an annoyed glare. He’s not going to ignore them insulting him while he’s in the _same room._ Didn’t these children have any tact?

“I would like to point out that I can hear what you are saying about me.”

The whispering stops.

“To those who are insulting me, I would remind you that you are now shinobi and I am higher on the chain of command than you are. Your behavior will be excused this time. In the future, disrespecting a superior officer will result in disciplinary action, such as being stuck on D-rank missions for six months…….You’ll find out what those are soon enough,” he adds at their confused expressions.

“Now, if Team 7 would step forward, we can be on our way.” He waits for them to stand up before leading them out of the classroom. It’s only when they’re halfway to their destination and he can practically see the question in their eyes that he reveals where they’re going. “Training ground 3 has been designated as our team’s meeting place.”

They sit under the shade of a tree, the three of them sitting side-by-side while he faces them. It feels odd to have them staring at him expectantly, waiting for guidance.

“To start things off, do you three understand why Genin are put on teams?” asks Tobirama.

“Safety in numbers?” guesses Hiruzen.

“Because there aren’t enough Jounin for us to each get our own sensei?” counters Koharu.

Tobirama blinks at her. “Although that is technically accurate, it was safety in numbers that I was looking for. Your teammates will help you complete your missions and carry you back to Konoha if you get seriously injured. There needs to be trust between teammates for them to work together properly. To that end, I’m willing to address any concerns you may have about me, due to the rumors circulating around town.”

Hiruzen raises his hand. Tobirama nods for him to speak.

“Is it true that you were born an alpha and turned yourself into an omega?”

“It is,” he confirms. “Originally, it was going to be a temporary change, but I went into heat rather quickly and ended up bonded to Madara. We both saw it as a way to unite our clans. It worked.”

“Did it not feel strange to be a different second gender?” asks Koharu.

“Only a little bit,” says Tobirama, shrugging. “I don’t think I’m as attached to my gender as the average person. I’m not the only one either. Since my transformation jutsu has become known, there have been a few people who asked me to create a male-to-female jutsu and vice versa. Not everyone is happy with the gender they were born as. If my jutsus can make someone happy in their own body, why should that be called a sin?”

There’s a moment of silence as they process his words.

“It shouldn’t be,” says Homura quietly. “I don’t even understand why some of the adults are acting so weird about this.”

“Adults just _are_ weird,” says Hiruzen. “No offense intended, Tobirama-sensei.”

Tobirama snorts. “I had the same opinion of adults when I was a kid. Now it’s the people my own age I think are idiots.”

Hiruzen grins at him, while Koharu and Homura’s smiles are more reserved.

“There have been articles in the newspaper about your jutsu. None of them have mentioned people wanting to change their gender for its own sake,” says Koharu. “It’s all about how betas can now have children, or omegas can avoid their heats when it’s an inconvenient time.”

Tobirama sighs softly in exasperation. “The religious extremists already think it’s a sin to change your second gender at all. At least when people are changing to have children and to be able to bond with their spouse, they can understand _why_ someone would want to change. I have a feeling they’d be trying to get these people into therapy if they knew they were unhappy with their gender. However, such a therapy could take years to work, if it ever did. It’s much better for the individual’s mental health to let them be the gender they want to be.”

“They’re going to find out anyways, aren’t they?” asks Homura. “Once you make a male-to-female jutsu, people are going to notice that a family member or friend of theirs is a different gender.”

“True,” he acknowledges, “but I’d rather not deal with the hassle before I have to. And I’m guessing those wanting to change genders feel the same way since they haven’t mentioned it to anyone else. I trust the three of you will keep this information to yourselves?”

Although phrased like a question, it’s clearly an order. His students recognize this and nod their heads obediently.

“Good. Now, if you don’t have any other questions, I’d like to get started. I need to assess your current skill level to know what I should be teaching you. For today, we’ll start off with a simple spar between the three of you. This is purely a taijutsu match, so no jutsus.”

Their curiosity seems to be satisfied for now as they get up from the ground and move to the center of the training field. He finds a good vantage point to watch them and indicates for them to begin.

He’s pleased by what he sees. They’ve got a good grasp of the basics. Their teacher’s written assessment of their skills was accurate as they do seem to be suited to a more speed based fighting style like him. For now, anyway. One of them might bulk up as they got older.

It was unlikely to happen to Koharu. Female or male, betas didn’t tend to get as muscular as alphas unless they deliberately tried to bulk up. Homura and Hiruzen were both alphas and may be suited for a more strength based fighting style when they got older. For now, he would focus on speed and using your opponent’s momentum against them.

Tobirama calls a halt to their spar when he’s seen enough and begins giving them suggestions for improvement. Their forms were nearly perfect for the Academy’s standard taijutsu style, but there were slight adjustments that would make the style better suited for their individual needs.

“That was good. We’ll be meeting four times a week, Monday through Thursday at nine. First, we’ll train, mostly taijutsu and weapons to start with. Then we’ll take one or two D-rank missions,” says Tobirama.

“What are D-rank missions?” asks Homura.

“For the most part, they’re chores,” he replies with a slight shrug. “The civilians around town pay us to help them with something. Painting fences, babysitting, working a shift at their restaurant. Things like that. They aren’t exciting, but they allow new Genin to make a paycheck while they train. When you’re stronger, you’ll be able to get real missions outside the village.”

“Wait, weren’t the shinobi of your generation already going out on missions by the time they were our age?” asks Hiruzen.

Tobirama regards him solemnly. “Most of us started fighting when we were seven. The lucky ones managed to survive to your age. If you actually want to come home from your missions, you’ll wait until you’re stronger.”

He lets that sink in before adding, “Of course, you don’t actually have a choice. No one is going to give you a C-rank mission so soon after graduating. Our village has adopted the novel concept of not sending out our children to die.”

An awkward silence descends.

“Well, I’m in favor of not dying,” says Hiruzen with false cheer. “Are we going to get a D-rank mission today, sensei?”

“Yes,” Tobirama replies, feeling vaguely amused by his student’s answer. “We’re going to the Hokage Tower now.”

The mission they receive is to help a woman with her garden. She lives by herself and doesn’t have time to harvest everything right now because of her job. It’s just his luck that none of his students know anything about gardening. Fortunately, the civilian they’re helping doesn’t have any plants unfamiliar to him, so he’s able to instruct them on how to identify which vegetables are ready for picking.

“Since we’re going to be a team for a while, should we tell each other some things about ourselves? Such as our hobbies and future goals?” asks Koharu.

“That does sound like a good idea,” agrees Tobirama, picking a tomato and putting it in a basket while he thinks of what to say. “For hobbies, I like to read books about science and to create new jutsu. My goals right now are to help the village prosper and to raise my daughter.”

“I have an interest in jutsus as well,” says Hiruzen. “Although I don’t know enough about the theory behind jutsu creation to know if that’s something I’d want to do, I want to learn as many jutsu as I can.”

“Are you aware of elemental affinities?” asks Tobirama curiously. “And that certain techniques will be more difficult for you to learn than others?”

“Yes, sensei.”

“We were taught about that in the Academy,” says Homura, “but the teachers never told us how we were supposed to figure out what our elemental affinity is.”

Tobirama’s lips twitch upwards as his three students pause what they’re doing to stare at him expectantly. “The Academy doesn’t teach you many jutsu because they’re more focused on teaching you chakra control. There is something called chakra paper which can show you what your element is, but it’s expensive as only a select few know how to make it. Most people figure out their element by trying out a simple jutsu of each type. The one that’s easiest for them to master is their element.”

“Is that what we’ll be doing, trying out different jutsus?” asks Koharu.

“It would be, if you hadn’t gotten me as a sensei,” replies Tobirama. “Not every sensor is able to, but I can tell what someone’s element is just by the feel of their chakra.”

“What element do I have, sensei?” asks Hiruzen excitedly.

Amused, Tobirama tells him, “You have earth chakra. Koharu is fire while Homura is water. Now, I believe we were still doing introductions.”

He glances at Homura to encourage him to go next. Out of his three students, this one seemed to be the most shy and would need occasional prompting to speak up.

“Um, well, lately I’ve been reading some anatomy books. My Academy teacher said I have good chakra control, which would help with genjutsu or healing. I looked into both subjects, but illusions didn’t interest me as much as healing,” says Homura.

“Having a medic on the team is important,” Tobirama says approvingly. “If you do learn medical ninjutsu, you’ll have many opportunities to go on missions with a variety of teams. Having a medic on a mission can sometimes be the difference between your teammate coming home alive or dead. It’s a big responsibility. Give it some thought before deciding whether it’s what you want to do.”

“Yes, sensei. Thank you.”

They turn their eyes to Koharu, who stands up straighter at their attention. She doesn’t allow their stares to fluster her, taking a moment to order her thoughts before speaking.

“Since you said I have a fire affinity, I’d like to learn a few fire jutsus. I’d also like to learn how to use a sword and maybe a staff. Senbon, as well.”

“You like weapons?” asks Tobirama.

Koharu nods. “They’re useful and you can store several of them in storage seals. My chakra reserves aren’t very high at the moment, so it would be best if I work on my taijutsu and learn to use different weapons while I work on increasing how much chakra I have.”

“It’s a good plan. I can teach you how to use a sword and senbon, but I’ll have to ask one of the other instructors to teach you how to wield a staff,” says Tobirama. “Madara knows fire jutsus. I’ll see if he’ll be willing to teach you a few simple ones that haven’t been declared clan secrets.”

“I appreciate that. Thank you,” replies Koharu.

They finish their mission and collect their paycheck from the Hokage Tower. Afterwards, he shows them where his house is before he allows them go home.

“If you need to speak with me outside of our normal meet up days, this is where I live. If no one’s home, you can leave a note and I’ll get in contact with you as soon as I can. I know some Jounin sensei meet up with their students more often than what I have planned, but they don’t have children either. That doesn’t mean you can’t visit when you need advice or just someone to talk to,” explains Tobirama.

“Even when it’s not about training?” asks Hiruzen.

“Yes. Teams are supposed to form friendships with each other. Though, friends or not, I’ll still be your commanding officer in the field,” replies Tobirama.

“Yes, sensei. Are we done for the day?”

“We are,” confirms Tobirama. “I’ll see the three of you tomorrow.”

His students say goodbye and head off in different directions. Walking into the house, he thinks about the potential he saw inside his students and smiles. Teaching has always been something he’s enjoyed. He likes seeing the progress people make and the understanding that slowly blossoms in their eyes as he explains something.

It’ll also be good practice for when Amaya is old enough to need training. Whether she decides to join the Academy or not, he still intends to show her how to defend herself. The village is peaceful for now, but who knows how long that will last.

 


	17. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the final chapter of An Unexpected Bond. I appreciate everyone who has left helpful and encouraging reviews throughout this story's development. 
> 
> I might write more for this story later when I have inspiration in the form of short sequel one-shots. If you have any requests for scenes you'd like to see in the future, then let me know in the comments.

Tobirama watches in amusement as his two children practically inhale their breakfast before rushing to the front door. They each grab a backpack and shoot him impatient looks until he gets up from the table and joins them. Once outside, he has to tell them several times to slow down when they take off running.

“I know you’re excited for your first day at the Academy, Amaya, but we’ll get there with plenty of time. There’s no need to run.”

Amaya grins sheepishly. “I guess so. It’s just that I’ve been waiting four years for this day. Everyone else gets to start when they’re six!”

“And I want to see where I’ll be going to school in the future,” adds Kaito. “Just three years to go, if you’re as protective of as me as you are of sister.”

“I am,” confirms Tobirama. “It’s better this way. Your classmates will already have some lessons on aiming by now. Less chance of you getting hit by stray shuriken.”

“What if I’m behind?” asks Amaya fretfully.

Tobirama snorts. “You think my teaching that subpar? I’m hurt.”

Amaya’s eyes widen. “No. No, you’re a good sensei. I just worry that the Academy instructors may have taught the class something you didn’t think to.”

He hums skeptically. “I doubt it. I helped design their lesson plans, remember? If they taught something I haven’t, then it’s probably irrelevant in the real world.”

Kaito giggles. “Dad is really sure of himself, isn’t he?” he whispers to Amaya.

Amaya hides a grin behind her hand and nods. Her good humor lasts until they reach the school, staring at the building with nervous anticipation.

“You’ll be fine,” he says, gently nudging her forwards. “Remember that you have until graduation to change your mind about this career path.”

She straightens her shoulders back at the reminder. “I won’t. This is what I’ve wanted to do for four years. I’m going to help you and Papa keep the village safe.”

“I’m sure you will,” replies Tobirama, hiding his dismay at the idea of her ever fighting on the front lines of a war.

Tensions with Kumo had steadily risen within the past few months, and it wasn’t outside the realm of possibility that a full on war would break out by the time Amaya was old enough to fight. He’s not sure how he would handle it if he lost her. How had his father survived the loss of Kawarama and Itama?

“I’ll see you guys after class,” says Amaya, waving to them as she enters the building.

Tobirama sighs as he watches her go. He looks to his youngest child and can’t help but smile at how intently he’s staring at the Academy building. “You’ll get your chance to enroll in a few years. For now, let’s be on our way. My students should already be waiting for us at the training ground.”

Kaito gives one last longing glance at the school before following him. When they arrive, Danzo and Hiruzen are sparring, Homura is working on a water jutsu by the river, and Koharu is learning how to fight with a new weapon by sparring against Torifune. Kagami is leaning against a tree, watching them. It seems the group had decided to let the Uchiha be the first to train with him today.

“Sensei,” greets Kagami. He walks closer and ruffles Kaito’s hair. “Mini-sensei. How are you doing today, Kaito?”

His son huffs silently and fixes his hair back into place. “I’m fine. Dad is letting me practice shuriken throwing today while you guys spar.”

“Sounds fun. Make sure you keep an eye on your surroundings, though. If a kunai slips by one of the others, it might head your way,” cautions Kagami.

“Sure. Thanks for the advice,” replies Kaito. He wanders off to one of the targets, leaving the two of them to begin their spar.

The two of them move off to the side, away from the others. As they fight, Tobirama absently notes how much progress Kagami has made in the last eight years. It makes him proud to know he had a hand in making his students stronger.

His student’s movements are fluid and precise, designed to do as much damage with the least amount of effort. It was the type of fighting he had taught all of them, though the exact taijutsu style differed between them. Kagami hadn’t needed as much hand-to-hand training from him as his clan had taught him the Uchiha’s taijutsu style.

They spar against each other for about an hour, holding back on using any large scale jutsus for fear of hitting the others. When they’re done, they sit down together under the shade of a tree and watch Koharu fling a mace around. She’s become proficient in a variety of weapons since she started training with him. Of course, he can’t take all the credit. Many of the other Jounin have given Koharu tips on how to wield whichever weapon she’s decided to master that month.

“Your son has good aim,” compliments Kagami. “Better even than Aiko and Haru.”

Aiko was Hashirama and Mito’s daughter while Haru was Izuna and Natsumi’s son. Considering that Haru was a year older than Kaito, it either spoke to his son’s skill or Haru wasn’t trying as hard as he could. And Aiko was the same age, so they should have equal skill, except…

“Of course he’s better. Hashirama and Izuna have let the Academy teach their kids instead of doing it themselves. Nothing beats one-on-one training,” replies Tobirama.

“Hmm. True. The Academy does teach them teamwork though,” says Kagami.

“Which is why I enrolled Amaya into the Academy when I did. Two years is enough time for her to become acquainted with her classmates and learn how to work with them. Her teammate skills will develop more when she gets a Jounin sensei and has to work as a team on missions.”

Kagami hums noncommittedly and changes the subject. “Hashirama has been trying to negotiate peaceful relations with Kumo, right? How has that been going?”

Tobirama frowns. “Not very well. At this point, I don’t even know what has them so irritated with us. Apparently, just being from a different village is enough reason to be suspicious of one another.”

“Didn’t the first disagreement start when one of our teams took a mission too close to their borders? They ran into a patrol there and ended up fighting,” says Kagami.

“That’s right. We don’t want to antagonize them, but if we avoided that border altogether, they’d just end up moving further in and taking part of our territory,” replies Tobirama.

“Perhaps that’s what they want,” muses Kagami. “Owning land is one of the main reasons that humans go to war.”

Tobirama sighs. “It’s the most likely explanation. It’s foolish of them. They would have to defeat the shinobi and samurai of this country to take any of it.”

Kagami catches sight of Kaito training and hesitates as something else occurs to him. He didn’t want to worry Tobirama, but it was something he needed to know. “One of their goals might also be to kidnap kekkai genkai users. If they caught us alive, they could force us to breed with them.”

He freezes, barely keeping the horror from showing on his face. Amaya and Kaito haven’t activated their sharingan yet, but they would be a target when, or if, they did. His student and every other member of the Uchiha clan was in danger. Although, he honestly wasn’t that worried that someone would successfully capture Madara. It would take Kumo’s Kage himself to beat his mate.

“If that’s really their end goal, I doubt we can reason with them.”

“Hmm. Not with words, anyway. We’ll have to thoroughly trounce them to get them to back off,” replies Kagami.

Tobirama snorts. “That word is too mild for what I intend to do to anyone who attacks my comrades. We’ll need to warn anyone with a Kekkai Genkai to be on guard whenever they leave the village. And as much as I abhor the idea, they may want to bring a cyanide pill with them. If they get captured, they may want a way to end the torture.”

He nearly regrets his words at Kagami’s stricken look, but it had to be said. There was no telling what Kumo would do to their people if they were captured, and the chances of a rescue were slim. Kumo was nearly as powerful as Konoha, and it would be suicide to try and storm the village on a rescue mission.

“….Right,” mutters Kagami. “That’s….practical, I guess. Horrible, but practical.”

Having finished their match, Hiruzen and Danzo approach them.

“What’s with the depressive aura?” asks Hiruzen, studying their expressions.

“We were talking about the possibility of a war starting with Kumo,” answers Tobirama. “And what to do if one of us gets captured by them.”

“Cyanide pill?” guess Danzo shrewdly.

Hiruzen starts to protest, looking shocked when Tobirama nods. It was a shame that what little innocence his students may have left would be ruined by the future war. Even the occasional necessity of killing your opponent during missions couldn’t compare to the countless loss of life you saw during wartime.

“What if they think they might be able to escape?” asks Hiruzen.

Tobirama chooses his words carefully. “It is, of course, up to the individual whether they ever use the cyanide pill. However, they must keep in mind that the longer they’re in captivity, the more risk there is of them spilling important secrets due to torture.”

Hiruzen huffs disapprovingly. “It doesn’t feel right, having to tell our people that if they get captured, the only option for them is death. Isn’t there some way we could sneak into Kumo to save them?”

Tobirama pauses, remembering the various stealth jutsus he’s been working on over the years. “The invisibility technique is still refusing to cooperate, but I do have an animal transformation jutsu that could work. It takes a lot of chakra for the initial transformation, but maintaining it doesn’t require much. The important thing to remember would be to choose a species that’s native to their area and to actually act like that animal.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do,” Hiruzen decides firmly. “We aren’t going to leave our people in enemy hands if there’s even the slightest chance of saving them.”

Seeing the unwavering determination in Hiruzen’s eyes, Tobirama remembers a passing thought that Hashirama’s successor would likely be one of their students. His brother hadn’t expressed much interest in the idea of training a train, or rather, it was more likely that he didn’t have the time with his Hokage duties. It was why he had chosen to train two teams, to increase the list of possible successors.

It seems that hadn’t been necessary, though he didn’t regret for a moment taking on his second team. Hiruzen displayed all the characteristics of this ‘Will of Fire’ that his brother talked about. Loyalty to your comrades and a fierce desire to protect the village at any cost, those were Hashirama’s ideals. Hiruzen was also very sociable and had a way with people. He would make a good leader.

Danzo could be his advisor. He was good at seeing the big picture and making practical choices, sometimes to the detriment of the individual. They would make a good balance, so neither optimism nor cold practicality won out.

“Agreed. Let me show you how to perform the transformation. In fact, tell the rest of your team to gather around. They need to see this too,” says Tobirama.

“Yes, sir.” Hiruzen lets the others known what’s going on and everyone, including Kaito, forms a circle around him to watch.

Tobirama goes through the hand signs slowly enough for Kaito to see and transforms into a white fox. He holds that form for a minute, giving Kagami enough time to analyze his flow of chakra with the sharingan, then shifts back.

“As you just saw, it’s not too draining once the jutsu is active, but the initial surge of chakra would draw attention to your location. For stealth missions, you would need to transform a few miles away from the enemy’s location and walk the rest of the way in animal form,” explains Tobirama.

“Or fly there?” asks Torifune. “Could we change into a bird, or does it only work with mammal forms?”

Tobirama smiles, always proud when one of his students asks an intelligent question. “The jutsu works for birds, mammals, and reptiles. I’ve yet to try it for amphibians, insects, and arachnids.”

“It would be kind of creepy to turn into a spider, wouldn’t it?” asks Kagami, nose wrinkling in disgust.

“Creepy, maybe, but definitely useful,” replies Danzo. “At least, useful if you get their venom. Sensei, have you tried turning into a venomous snake yet?”

“I have. I tried the bite out on a mouse and it died fairly quickly. When I transformed back, all traces of venom had disappeared from the mouse,” says Tobirama.

“The venom only exists while you’re in the snake form. That would be useful for assassinations,” observes Koharu.

Kaito looks at her in surprise. Objectively, he knows what types of missions that ninja are given, but it’s different to hear someone talk about cold blooded murder so casually.

Tobirama gauges his son’s reaction and decides to change the subject before the surprise turns to upset. “I think that’s a topic for another day. Why don’t you guys try your hand at transforming? It would be best for you to practice while I’m around. As the one who created the jutsu, I’ll notice right away if anything is about to go amiss.”

“What animal should we try, sensei?” asks Homura.

“Whichever animal you’re most familiar with will be the easiest to transform into. So perhaps a dog or a cat,” answers Tobirama.

Kagami and Koharu choose cat; Homura, Danzo, and Torifune choose dog; and Hiruzen chooses a monkey of all things. It must have something to do with the Sarutobi clan’s summoning contract. They’re not successful at first, but he didn’t expect them to be. It was an extremely complicated jutsu.

By the time he has to leave to pick up Amaya, they’ve all managed to shift, and hold the transformation for more than a minute. They’ll need to keep practicing to stay shifted for long periods of time. He’s confident they’ll manage it.

Kaito watches them, learning from them even if he’s not old enough to try the jutsu yet himself. In the future, his children will have access to nearly all his techniques, a legacy that he’ll gladly pass down to them.

“That was excellent work for the first time trying out the jutsu,” praises Tobirama. “It’s time for me to get Amaya now, so I’ll see you at the next meeting.”

“See you later, Sensei.”

“Bye, sensei.”

“Bye, mini-sensei.”

Kaito rolls his eyes and waves before following Tobirama off the training grounds. They reach the Academy just as class is letting out, Amaya rushing over to them as soon as she catches sight of them.

“Did you have fun today, darling?” asks Tobirama.

Amaya grins. “Yep! I got put in the same class as Daichi, Naomi, Ryou, and Suki. It was a bit boring listening to the Instructor’s lecture for so long, but we got to go outside afterwards for taijutsu practice. That part was fun. What did you guys do today?”

“Dad and his friends turned into animals,” reports Kaito excitedly.

Her eyes go wide. “Eh? Really? I wish I could have seen that. You’ll show me that later, right, dad?”

“Of course. And one day, the two of you will be able to learn that jutsu yourself,” he replies.

“I want to turn into a falcon,” proclaims Amaya. “Then I could fly over Konoha.”

“I want to turn into a tiger, one of the big ones from Training Ground 44,” says Kaito.

Tobirama’s eyes narrow. “How do you know about them?”

“Uncle Hashirama told me. Is it true that he created the trees there, and that they’re all taller than the Hokage Tower?” asks Kaito.

“And as wide as a house?” adds Amaya.

“Yes,” he replies, relieved that Hashirama didn’t actually _show_ them Training Ground 44, recently nicknamed the ‘Forest of Death.’ Even from behind the fence, it was a dangerous area. “He created that whole place using his Mokuton, and his chakra attracted larger than normal creatures…or else it mutated them.”

“Mutated? You think Uncle’s chakra could have made them bigger?” asks Amaya curiously.

“It’s a possibility I’ve considered. Hashirama is the first in the family to develop the Mokuton, so no one is certain of its full capabilities.”

“Is Aiko going to have the Mokuton?” asks Kaito.

Tobirama notices the hint of jealously in his son’s tone and tries not to sigh. “She might. Genetics can be tricky. If Hashirama has a dozen children, all of them or none of them could inherit his abilities. There’s no way to tell.”

“People are still going to expect her to have the Mokuton, though, aren’t they?” Amaya asks knowingly. “The same way they expect Kaito and me to awaken the sharingan.”

This time, he does sigh. “People can be unreasonable that way. Madara and I are powerful individuals, and that’s placed high expectations on your shoulders. Just know that, sharingan or no, your father and I will continue to love you.”

Reassured for the moment, his children drop the subject. They reach the house shorty after and enter to find Madara cooking supper. His mate had spent the day with Izuna and a few of his other adult clansmen. He and Madara tended to spend most of their time not on missions together, but sometimes it was good for their relationship to be apart for a while and hang out with other people.

“Papa,” says Amaya happily. She rushes over to Madara and hugs him, excitedly telling him about her day.

Madara watches her fondly and picks her up, causing her to giggle. That innocent sound is exactly why they had refused to let her join the Academy earlier. Tobirama had tried to gently explain to her the dangers of being a ninja, and how sometimes you had to kill to survive. He doesn’t think she truly understood him. She doesn’t have the experience necessary to comprehend how horrible it is to kill.

“I’m glad you enjoyed your first day at the Academy, Amaya,” says Madara. “And what about you, Kaito? Did you enjoy your outing with Tobirama and his team?”

“Uh-huh. Dad and his team turned into animals. He turned into a fox, Kagami became a cat, and Hiruzen became a _monkey._ It was amazing,” says Kaito, grinning.

“Is that so?” asks Madara, amused. “I’m glad you both had an exciting day.

Tobirama scoots past them into the kitchen and stirs the food before it can burn. When it’s done, he dishes it out onto plates while Madara gets them drinks.

“Yummy,” proclaims Amaya after her first bite.

Sometimes, Tobirama wonders if they sheltered her too much. Amaya’s vocabulary can be a bit childish at times, though he knows she has above average intellect. It just seemed to be the way she preferred to express herself.

“I tried a new recipe today. I’m glad it turned out okay,” replies Madara.

“It is good,” says Tobirama.

“I like it too,” adds Kaito. “Thanks for cooking.”

Tobirama notices a stack of mail on the table and begins leafing through it while eating. He finds one addressed to him and cuts the envelope open with a kunai. Inside is a plain card with a personalized message. As his eyes scan the words, a pleased smile crosses his face.

“What is it?” asks Madara.

“It’s a thank you card.” Tobirama passes it over to Madara. “There’s no name given, but they’re one of the patients who had their gender changed at the hospital last week. They’re expressing their gratitude, both for the jutsu’s creation and for it being made free to the public. It never felt right to charge for such a thing.”

Madara hums in agreement as he reads the card. “We also wouldn’t have had as much support from them if we had charged money. A jutsu they don’t have access to it is useless to them. No point going against popular opinion for something that doesn’t help you.”

“What if it helps other people?” asks Amaya.

Madara pauses, then sets down the card to face her. “Not everyone is that altruistic. Helping others is good in theory, but not everyone can find the motivation to keep pushing for the ‘right thing’ when it doesn’t benefit them, especially when society gives them grief over it.”

“Hmm,” Amaya hums disapprovingly. “Dad didn’t give up when society told him it was weird to change your gender, and now most of the hateful people have left the village. Everyone else learned to adapt. I don’t want to be the kind of person who gives up on what’s right just because it isn’t easy.”

Madara sighs, but his lips are twitching up at the corners. “I’m proud of you for that, Amaya, but just remember that everybody has their own definition of what’s right. When you try to change something, you’re also trying to convince people that they’re wrong.”

“It helps if you have friends who agree with your viewpoint,” adds Tobirama. “The more people who believe in something, the more credibility that belief has.”

“I can help her,” volunteers Kaito, sitting up straight in his seat.

Tobirama laughs softly in amusement. “Are the two of you going to fight injustices when you’re adults?”

Kaito grins. “Of course.”

“That’s the kind of ninja we want to be,” says Amaya.

“Not just mercenaries for hire. We want to protect people,” says Kaito.

“Perhaps your generation will redefine what it means to be ninja,” muses Tobirama.

“That’s exactly what we’ll do,” declares Amaya with unyielding resolve. “Daichi, Ryou, Naomi, and Suki already feel the same way I do. Now all we have to do is convince our classmates.”

Convince children of an idealistic notion of what it means to be shinobi? Tobirama doesn’t think Amaya will have as much trouble with that as she seems to believe.

“Haru and Aiko also share our viewpoint,” adds Kaito. “So they can help us sway the people in my age group.”

Amaya grins at her brother and the two of them high-five, excitement in their eyes as they contemplate their future plans. The life of a shinobi is never going to be easy, but Tobirama has hope that, one day, the word _ninja_ will be synonymous with _protector_ instead of _killer_.

His generation has started the path for peace by creating the villages, but true peace couldn’t be achieved in just one lifetime. Nor could it happen with just one village working for it. Somehow, they would have to convince the other countries’ shinobi that war had no place in the new era.

“Mrow.”

Tobirama looks down at his feet as Mika rubs against his legs, letting out a demanding meow. She had already been fed, so it must be attention that she wants. He picks her up and cuddles her to his chest with one hand, picking up his plate with the other and taking it to the sink.

“I want to play with kitty too,” says Kaito, following him into the living room.

“Why don’t you get her string toy then,” suggests Tobirama.

Kaito gets the toy from his room and spends the next few minutes leading the cat around the house before allowing her to pounce on the string. When the cat gets bored with that, Amaya and Kaito take turns petting her.

Then Mika heads over to her food dish and meows, even though she _just ate_ less than an hour ago. He has no idea how they raised such a gluttonous cat. Not wanting to deal with her complaining, he shoos her outside. If she was that determined to overeat, then she could catch herself a bird.

“Mika is starting to get a bit of a belly, isn’t she?” asks Amaya. “Does she need to go on a diet?”

“Or maybe we just need to stop giving her a snack at three in the morning,” replies Kaito.

Amaya huffs. “But then she’ll just keep us awake with all her meowing.”

“Before you two got old enough to complain about it, we simply stuck her outside when she wouldn’t shut up,” says Madara.

“There’s nowhere for her to sleep outside,” protest Amaya. “And what if she gets lonely?”

Tobirama shakes his head at Madara before he can say anything. “Then we’ll put a pillow outside for her. When she starts meowing at night, we’ll stick her out there. I don’t think a few hours of being alone will upset her.”

“And if she doesn’t like it, she’ll learn to be quiet while we’re sleeping,” adds Madara.

Tobirama frowns but Amaya seems more exasperated with Madara’s remark than truly upset so he lets it go. With their discussion resolved, everyone grabs a book from the shelf and begins to read. He had raised his children to love knowledge as much as he did, and that had turned into the family having silent reading time together after dinner.

He’s proud to see that Amaya is reading one of the books he had written about sealing. While she was just a toddler, he had thought endlessly about the best way to explain fuinjutsu to her. The result had been a series of books, copies of which rested inside Konoha’s shinobi library.

Amaya was just as interested in seals as he was, and he looked forward to seeing what she came up with in the future. His daughter could be quite creative when she put her mind to it.

They spend the next few hours reading, occasionally mentioning to the others something interesting from their book, before they all head to bed. The Academy started early in the morning, and they all preferred to wake up at the same time to eat breakfast together.

Tobirama changes into his night clothes and then curls up onto the bed with Madara, purring contently when the other starts to pet his hair. He doesn’t know why that gesture is so calming to him, but it makes him feel cared for.

Madara shifts positions a bit, getting more comfortable before settling down with an arm around his waist. “Goodnight, Tobi.”

“Mm. Night, Mada,” he mumbles sleepily.

Their bond pulses with feelings of love, allowing him to slip into a nightmare free sleep. It had been a pleasant surprise to both of them that after their bond had fully developed, neither of them had had to deal with bad dreams. Their subconscious was able to constantly sense that their mate was safe and lying down right next to them.

In the morning, he would have to deal with the stress of paperwork and help Hashirama write letters to Kumo’s leader. For now, he could rest easy with Madara by his side and their children safely sleeping in the other room.


End file.
